MARGO RAATS * 1997
( One For The Future? You Choose… ) - Monday 10th June 2024
Words by Isaac Solanki. Photography by Roj Ferman. Thanks to Jessica Lamb.
Introduce yourself and describe your sound…
“My name is Margo and I think that the best way to describe my music is colourful and expressive - I love classical fairytale sounds but I also love sharp edges. I’m just documenting my life and my feelings in songs, I always try to be as vulnerable and as pure as I can be.”
What do you think makes you different to the other young up and coming artists of today?
“I sing with my heart on my sleeve, whether you like my music or you’re drawn to the sound pallet I create, the voice in me is always honest. I always make music with my whole heart; I think this feeling is really present in my music.”
What’s your story? How did it all start and what challenges have you faced along the way so far?
“I grew up in Belgium on a ranch, my family is very musical and I used to make music with my dad all the time. He showed me a lot of the best music; people like Joni Mitchel but he also introduced me to the likes of Patsy Cline and The Beatles too. I first went to study fashion but found fitting in quite hard - I felt like an alien and I ended up home-schooling myself before going to Jazz Academy in Antwerp. During this time my parents moved to California and I stayed because I wanted to finish the course but I did struggle a lot at the time.
All I wanted to do was make music, I used up taking the bus to London and I lived in a hostel for a while before I eventually ended up settling. I loved it so much from the second I landed my feet in London. I looked for places to make music and found so much; jams, open mics and all these sorts of things. I just wanted to sing because playing live is my favourite part of music, it makes me feel so free.
I then decided to go study at BIMM and I started collaborating with people. I’d been writing for about a year and a half by the time I met Daniel Hylton. We wrote “Finish Line” on the very first session and this ended up being the closing track on the EP that we made together. The songs on that EP are a collection of collaborations and vulnerable moments of me in my bedroom. I love Dan's soundscape and musicianship, I love the world we created together so much and I’m so proud of this EP.”
Moving forwards, what are some of your short-term and long-term career goals for the future?
“Short-term I just want to keep on feeling free in the creation of music, continuously giving it all my honesty. I also really wanna perform more and build up a bigger live set. I think that 1 year from now, I would love to be playing at festivals and to have done a load more shows, I think it's the funnest part of it all.”
Talk to me about some of the unsung heroes of your music career to date. Is there anyone that you perhaps wouldn’t be here today without?
“My dad has played a huge part in my musical journey to date, the way he plays is just so beautiful. I also love artists like Joni Mitchel and Celeste a lot. I love Frank Ocean, FKA twigs, Audrey Nuna, Lana Del Rey and so many more. There are loads of artists that have influenced my sound along the way.”
“Paper Paradise” by Margo Raats
“Back when I still lived in north London, I was kind of going through something, I was up all night and it was close to being morning again - I just felt a little lost so I pressed record and started singing while playing the guitar. I actually wrote the song exactly how it is; I listened back to it and absolutely loved it. I just thought it was so pure and I decided not to change anything. If the EP was a book, the song “Paper Paradise” would be the writing on the back of the book; I just love how colourful and visual the song became. It describes a disposable feeling of finding love in the city.”
Favourite lyric from the track…
“It’s got to be “Waiting by the staircase made of gold doesn’t make waiting less long,” I still really resonate with this because sometimes something can feel so promising yet turn out not to be, both personal and also in a professional way. I think that keeping the same values and morels in any situation is a big lesson I’ve learned over the past year.”
