morgxn

interview by sara salamat

Hopping on a few dates of X Ambassador’s Joyful Tour next month, singer/songwriter morgxn sat down via E-Mail to chat about his music, toughest battles in his careers, and his sense of responsibility in the LGBTQ+ community.

Your music is so mellow and calming to listen to. What drove you to this genre of music? Who are your influences? 

jeff buckley, james blake, stevie wonder. i don't know that i sat down to write a genre or write a mood. i think i spent a lot of time making music and looking for something that felt good to everyone but myself - and then i wrote 'xx' and i felt a cosmic shift. it just felt new to me. for the first time i couldn't put the demo down - i played it on repeat. it just felt so good i wanted to keep going. 

Like all music, songs paint a story. Your song “home" talks about longing for that sense of inclusion. Can you explain more about that? 

home means something different to everybody. i lost my dad in the middle of recording what i thought was an EP. i think losing him shifted me in ways i'm still feeling. so 'home' literally shifted for me in the middle of making this record. i didn't know where i was going at the time, but i let the studio and touring help me navigate it. i've said it before and i'll continue saying it - i feel most at home on the road. and each city - whether i was there for the 1st time or had visited several times in the course of the last year - had this special effect on me. i felt at home in basically every random city i visited over the last year. it's staying in one place - that society tells you to define as 'home' - that felt unnatural. i could also say that my life has always been about taking what is told to you and molding it into what fits for you. 'home' has been about finding that balance between what is given to you and what you have to claim for yourself. 

What would one of the most, if not the most difficult obstacle you had to face in this career?

i still have to work with people who constantly make me feel shame about my weight and my personal appearance. even when i'm sharing a hope to move past that.. there are still people who are caught thinking 'beauty' has one kind of look. luckily i'm finding and aligning with more people who don't think like this... and it's for the best

I have noticed that you have become a leading voice in LGBTQ music. In fact, just the other day Billboard put your song XX on their list for “14 New Queer Love Songs for Valentine’s Day” Do you feel a sense of responsibility when creating music that helps people feel included?

i want to frame this question. and hopefully frame this answer. i am a voice because i know what it feels like to be on the outside and always looking in. i do feel a responsibility to wear my heart on my sleeve because it is the only way people can truly connect with me. i never set out to write something queer though. i am queer. i make music. they aren't really separate because they both exist in me. i spent a lot of my life as an actor telling other people's stories but forgetting to listen to my own. so to be making music and be included in a list like this is a true honor - because i am making music from my heart and i am so honored that it is resonating with yours. 

You can catch morgxn on the Joyful Tour this March with tickets available here; as well as connect with him on Twitter and Instagram.

TICKETS http://www.morgxn.com

IG https://www.instagram.com/morgxnofficial/

TWIT: https://twitter.com/morgxn