“I’m finally making the music I’ve always wanted to make”

Maggie Lindeman We’ve come a long way. At first she seemed to be an overnight sensation, but now that she has established herself as a rock star, she finally makes her own music on her own terms. ing.

words: Ali Shuttle. photograph: Sarah Louise Bennett.

On her 2017 breakout single “Pretty Girl,” Maggie Lindemann sang, “Throw away your ribbons and pearls, ’cause I’m not just a pretty girl.” The sparkling pop track has been streamed nearly 100 million times, and Cheat Codes’ pulsating remix is ​​the kind of flashy, euphoric anthem you can hear every summer on Love Island. With over 850 million streams, Maggie became an overnight sensation.

Backstage at the Hammersmith Apollo, before a PVRIS support slot, Maggie explained that ‘Pretty Girl’ was a dream come true for the 17-year-old. She was also a bit of a nightmare. “Everything happened so fast. The first time I played live was in front of 90,000 people.

Things were made worse by the fact that Maggie never really wanted to be a pop star. “When he puts so much time and effort into something he doesn’t really love, he doesn’t feel like he’s getting much in return,” she explains. Maggie, who grew up listening to the likes of Paramore, Sleeping With Sirens, and Black Veil Brides, was always interested in making rock music, but she wasn’t that cool in 2017.

Regardless, her label was definitely not enthused at the time, and Maggie followed Pretty Girl with a barrage of equally sweet pop singles. “I loved playing, I loved being in the studio…I loved all things music,” she continued, explaining why. No. I signed to the label at a very young age when I wasn’t really sure what I was doing, but I quickly learned the steps I needed to take to get where I wanted to be.” she says.

The first step was the release of the ska-infused single “Friends Go” in 2019. Again, Maggie never liked the trumpet, but Travis Barker’s remix perfectly filled the “dark, rock” box. “It was a pivotal moment for me,” she explains. She couldn’t scream about it on social media, where she spent her 24 hours in jail without contact with the outside world and recently described her experience as a “huge panic attack.” .

When she was finally released, she decided she had taken baby steps. In 2021, she released her hectic guitar-driven EP ‘Paranoia’ and later last year released her debut album ‘Suckerpunch’. “This is something I’ve always wanted to do,” she says of her new material.

Maggie went on to say that writing “Paranoia” was really hard because it “came literally from nothing. I had to figure out what the sound of what I wanted to do was.” You can hear it across the record’s eight eclectic tracks, from punk to brutal arena rock. Maggie wanted to avoid nostalgia with ‘Suckerpunch’. He didn’t want it to sound old. I wanted it to feel new,” she explains.

Following “Paranoia,” Maggie “knew what I wanted to do and how to elevate it.” In “Sucker Punch,” inspired by childhood influences, we find Maggie Lindemann fearlessly “more experimental.”

Written over 18 months, Maggie wanted to push herself with her debut album. “I wanted the songs to be a little more metal, the lyrics to be more brave, and try different things.” She described the process as “challenging, but always felt comfortable ” explains.

Lyrically, “Suckerpunch” sees Maggie singing about “whatever I was going through then”. Her opening track, “Take Me Nowhere,” describes how she struggled with “a sense of disorientation” growing up in Texas that didn’t change when she moved to Los Angeles. “I always found it difficult to be comfortable in one place, especially in the music industry.”

“But I always felt like I had a place to be with my fans,” she adds. Written from the perspective of a 16-year-old Maggie, the emotional “Hear Me Out” is a diversion from the self-help found elsewhere on the album. “So I named the record ‘Suckerpunch’ because I felt like I was getting these unexpected blows all the time,” she says. Then there’s the breakout song “She Knows It,” where Lindemann sings about her liking “a girl with her boyfriend.”

“I think people relate to it because of their sexuality. This is the first song I’ve written about liking a woman,” Maggie says. “People love to hear that representation, especially from artists who don’t usually sing about it.” There was no tension about the release, “just excitement.”

The record closes with the rebellious and triumphant ‘Cages’, which feels like a spiritual sequel to ‘Pretty Girls’. “I don’t live for you, I live for me,” sings Maggie. “You can’t shut me up, you’ll hear me scream.”

“That song is all about being with a label that doesn’t really understand me,” she explains. I’m still the same, but I’m more real,” she nods to those expecting Maggie to come out of this era of making rock music. “People like to think that this is just one step, or that I’m making this music because I’m depressed, but the truth is that I’ve been through life so far. I’m happier than I’ve ever been and I’m finally making music.

“I knew it would be difficult to move from pop to another genre, especially rock,” admits Magee. “People take rock culture very seriously, which I understand all too well, but I knew I was supposed to be doing it just to be trendy or something. I’m still a poser. But Maggie feels she has nothing to prove to people.

Maggie Lindemann has had to grow up a lot in the public eye. I’ve been there, so there’s proof of who I used to be.” She says there are still people who demand a “Pretty Girl” “just to fuck me,” but she’s embarking on an unconventional journey. “I’m so proud of that song. It has more streams than I realize and people still tell me it really helped.” I can’t be ashamed of it.It’s a good song.I don’t feel connected to it.”

Maggie may only be on tour with PVRIS for four nights, but it’s a great warm-up for the rest of the year. In March, she will begin her 24-day world tour through Australia, North America, Europe and the UK. It’s her first time headlining her tour for her and it’s already sold out all the shows. After that, she is also looking forward to performing at festivals such as Slam Dunk and Rock Am Ring.

Other than that, she’s already writing new music and thinks something will be released before the end of the year. “‘Sucker Punch’ is a good foundation, but you really don’t know what happens next,” she admits. Likewise, she doesn’t want to think too much about the future. because it scares her. But she knows she wants her music to be approachable. After years of struggling to be heard, Maggie said, “I’m exactly where I want to be.” Is called.

Taken from the March 2023 edition of Upset. Order your copy below.