An Artist’s Perspective: Madison McFerrin
Image: Justin French
Happy Women’s History Month! This month, and every month, we’re celebrating women and change makers who use their gifts to tell stories. As part of ‘An Artist’s Perspective’ series, Kio Briggs delves deeper into consciousness, creativity and compassion. He connects with female artists from the creative industry to highlight their journey, and share their words of wisdom.
Briggs sat down with Madison McFerrin - an American singer, songwriter and producer. Madison delved into her influences, shared more on how residing in different US states has ignited her journey to finding community and a sense of home within - as well as the latest visuals for her single ‘God Herself’ off her forthcoming debut album: “I Hope You Can Forgive Me”.
“Sometimes the stars align and you end up writing what is possibly the best song you’ve ever written. That’s exactly what happened with, “God Herself.” Every idea I heard in my head came flowing out into a luscious landscape, creating a self-empowerment bop. I hope that everyone who hears it feels like a strong, uplifted, bonafide bad bitch. Collaborating with Sam Cannon on this video was an absolute dream! We worked with a team led by and mostly made up of women – you could feel the energy of empowerment in the room. We wanted to create an ethereal, other-worldly environment that could match the vibe of the song. I’m so grateful that we were able to come together and make such a beautiful piece of work.”
The Root of Influence
“My influences - it’s a pretty extensive list. I grew up with a variety of music at home - Stevie Wonder, James Brown, The Beatles, Radiohead, Spice Girls, NSYNC, Britney Spears and Jill Scott”. Madison recalls being 4 years old and her older brother handing her his Walkman playing ‘My Cherie Amour’, by Stevie Wonder: “I must have listened to it four or five times; even as a child, I could really connect with and feel the beauty of Stevie Wonder.” Describing her art as ‘eclectic’ - Madison takes from a variety of sonic influences and creates music inspired by her familial upbringing.
In line with a strong self-awareness, Madison exudes characteristics of an old soul. A lover of vinyl records, when writing her forthcoming project, ‘I Hope You Can Forgive Me’, she wrote from the perspective of an A-side/B-side vinyl listener. “It was intentional, and vinyl listening was integral in my process.” Along with vinyl records, Madison will also be accompanying her release with cassettes; although she hasn’t listened to cassettes since she was five years old, she draws in nostalgic listeners: “I think people are getting a little tired of the abundance of streaming. I think it’s important to tap into different mediums - still taking into consideration that most people will be listening to the project via streaming and it still has to flow, top to bottom; I get really disappointed when the front half of a record is really great then it kind of dwindles before the end.”
Creating this project, Madison was intentional about developing a “short project”, understanding that change is in the air and people aren’t listening music in the same way; hour-long projects can be time consuming and challenging to commit to in one session. “I was considering people during commutes on the train or on a drive, it would be great if they could consume the project on a single commute, and maybe even listen to it again. Albums in particular for me are like movies, I don’t want to stop in the middle and watch the rest later, I want to watch the whole thing… I really wanted to make a full body of work for people to listen to.”
Finding a Home Within
Having lived around the US - from being born in San Francisco to living in Minneapolis, Philadelphia, New York City and now Los Angeles - one of the challenges that Madison has faced has been forming a strong community. Over time however, key people from these places have grown into being core members of her sphere of influence: “I’m incredibly grateful for that. I’m lucky that my two best friends are the same two best friends [that] I had in kindergarten in Minneapolis; because I moved around so much, I was really intentional about making sure that certain people stayed in my life.”
New York is where Madison has lived the longest, rooted in one space. She says, “It was new territory and it fortified my ability to move around and be in different spaces, and not to be so hung up on the fact that I’m constantly in different spaces - especially as a touring musician. I can be all around the world and find ways to be at home.” Grateful for the different cultures and climates she has experienced, Madison is currently loving life in Los Angeles. “Experiencing sunshine in the winter time is great! Moving around has helped round my perspective on life.”
Chosen Family
Discussing how Madison has taken advantage of her life experiences and built a diverse community, she reveals: “It’s trial and error with community I find. I read somewhere that your circle of friends changes every seven years… the people that I consider my family are more so found-community.” Having a genuine connection is what a chosen family is about for Madison and she has been able to find that without being preoccupied with whether they’re nuclear or extended. “When you find people [that] you have a deep bond with, for me it’s easy to call them family. That said, on the other side of the coin, I have a song on my last EP “You & I” called, ‘Unwise’; it sounds like it’s about a romantic breakup but it’s actually about a friendship breakup, and at live shows the audience really connects with the feeling of losing relationships with friends and found-community as much as, if not more than, the feeling of losing relationships with relatives and traditional family.” Coming from a place of vulnerability, Madison has fostered strong bonds with a growing community that is grounded in authenticity.
Growth Post-Pandemic
Describing herself as previously having a fixed mindset, Madison is coming into herself. “I am very grateful for where I am in terms of personal growth. The pandemic is partly responsible for that - being forced to sit and be with myself”. In the years prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Madison was touring and things were shaping up in 2020 for a major breakthrough; then, like many others, she went through a major reset. She reflects on time and what felt like a great disappointment: “I was thinking about the impact [of the pandemic] and how I may not have been in the right mental space in 2020 for things to break through for me in that way, and for that I am also grateful for the difficulties I experienced in 2020.”
Madison remains aware that being in a position to have opportunities available post-pandemic is an incredible privilege, as many artists have not been able to recover; she speaks on how a lot more can be done to ensure that more people overall recover from the pandemic. “I’m grateful that my community are still excited to hear new music from me after such a long time. Being more in-tune with myself has prepared me to take on the rest of my career in a much more fortified manner. This moment right now for me has definitely been a milestone - I’m receiving a lot of love, knowing that people want to hear my music… I’m incredibly excited to embark on the rest of this artistic journey.”
Words of Wisdom
“Don’t doubt yourself. Go after what you believe and trust yourself - trust your instincts. It’s definitely difficult to do, I deal with it every day - the best way to try and shed any uncertainty is to choose to trust yourself.”
Madison recommends:
Read:
Dilla Time - Dan Charnas
The Body Keeps The Score - Bessel van der Kolk
The Artist’s Way - Julia Cameron
Watch:
Black Monday, Jordan Cahan, David Caspe
Abbot Elementary - Quinta Brunson
Everything, Everywhere, All at Once - Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert
The Great Pottery Throwdown - Love Productions
Listen:
(Please Don't) Leave Me Now - Madison McFerrin
Democracy Now! - Samori Marksma
I HOPE YOU CAN FORGIVE ME TOUR DATES
May 20 – Artyard, Frenchtown, NJ
June 1 – Zebulon, Los Angeles, CA
June 2 – The Independent, San Francisco, CA
June 4 – Hult Center, Eugene, OR
June 5 – Doug Fir, Portland, OR
June 13 – Sleeping Village, Chicago, IL
June 15 – Rambling House, Columbus, OH
June 22 — Songbyrd, Washington D.C.
June 23 – Creative Alliance, Baltimore, MD
June 24 – Love, Velma, Ellenville, NY
June 25 – The Falcon, Marlboro, NY
June 29 – Elsewhere Zone One, Brooklyn, NY
INTERNATIONAL TOUR DATES
July 9 – North Sea Jazz Fest, NL
August 10 - 13 – We Out Here Fest, UK
