We had a catch up with margø to find out more about her gloriously dark and creative new single ‘crawl’.
With a fiercely distinctive alternative pop sound that melds empowering lyrics, haunting, forward-thinking soundscapes and an earnest, intimate vulnerability, Canadian artist margø has spent the last few years crawling into our subconscious with her infectious sound and refusing to leave.
The artist’s harrowingly consistent output and relatable writing have seen her grow at an alarming rate over the last few years, urging listeners to embrace their darker side and unlock their most uninhibited, unapologetic side. Her latest single ‘Crawl’ is the perfect showcase of everything that margø stands for, pushing back against toxicity with the signature charisma and power that the artist has made her own. On her only release of 2023, the artist feels as exciting and fresh as she ever has, and we had a chat with margø to find out some more about the track and her future plans as she unravels an exciting new era.
Hey! We love your new single ‘Crawl’, what more can you tell us about it?
Inspired by toxic relationships with manipulative partners, “crawl” is a vulnerable yet sassy take on succumbing to intrusive thoughts caused by jealousy. I’ve unfortunately been involved with people who thrived on creating a jealous environment – it was almost like they took pleasure from hurting me with the possibility of being unfaithful. This song was written from the perspective of being consumed by the jealous and fearful thoughts as a result of being gaslit – and it felt like therapy to fully acknowledge the pain and damage that can be caused by mind games from a toxic partner. I hope this song reminds listeners to never accept anything other than what they deserve when it comes to a relationship – it isn’t worth it to chase after someone who makes you feel any less than the incredible and worthy person you are.
What was the process like putting it together?
It’s funny – this song almost didn’t happen! I was only visiting Los Angeles for a week, and SO many of my writing sessions had cancelled for various reasons – and the morning before my final session of the trip with producer Adam Boukis, we were notified that the other writer would no longer be able to join the session. I was feeling pretty defeated at that point (there was a moment where I thought the session wouldn’t happen altogether), however I loved working with Adam and knew we’d create something amazing regardless, so we proceeded forward just the two of us. I had wanted to write a song about jealousy and intrusive thoughts from this darker perspective for a very long time, and had been sitting with a big portion of these lyrics and ideas for nearly a year (I hadn’t ever quite found the best fit for them) – and as soon as Adam began producing this track, I knew it would be a perfect fit. The song came together SO quickly – it was like magic.
What were your biggest influences when creating the track?
Lyrically, the biggest influence for this song was “breezeblocks” by Alt-J. That’s one of my most favourite songs ever, and unless you really listen to the lyrics you wouldn’t know how dark the meaning of the song is – but I love how they approach the content of the song with such a lighthearted (and almost playful) perspective. “hostage” by Billy Eilish was also a big influence – I love when artists write their music from the perspective of a villainous character and personify dark traits in a way that makes you sympathize with their perspective. I’m also a huge fan of Sub Urban – his music (and the incredible work he did producing for Bella Poarch) definitely influenced this song sonically as well.
As someone who often talks about making music suited for a “Villain Era”, what does the term mean to you?
Taking your power back! I think embracing your “villain era” almost allows you to view yourself as a character, or a version of yourself, who is able to step outside of your normal comfort zone. I think there’s something extremely empowering about being able to embrace the darker side of ourselves – so often we’re encouraged to be polite and make ourselves small to please others, and I find it very liberating to be able to set that ‘niceness’ aside for a while to set boundaries, feel confident in saying no, and removing the people who negatively affect us from our lives. I hope my music continues to inspire people to be unafraid to remember how powerful they are, embrace and express themselves as the unique individuals they are, and to never settle for anything less than the love they deserve.
What else do you have planned for the near future?
I have SO many exciting things planned for 2024 – I’ve spent the entirety of this past year working with an incredible group of writers and producers, so you can definitely expect a large amount of music from me for the next while (perhaps an album’s worth? who knows!).
