In this interview spotlight, we speak with Magana about influences, being a musician in the digital age, the new project and more.
Full Q&A with links and streams can be found below.
Where are you from and what style of music do you create? (In your own words, not necessarily in marketing terms or by popular genre classifications.)
I was born in Bakersfield, CA and I create emotional and eerie rock music.
What led you down this path of music and what motivates you to stay the course?
I’ve played all sorts of music and collaborated with a lot of different people, and I think a part of me always was itching to have my own voice. The quest to express myself as myself is what started me on the journey, and what keeps me going is when I get little signs from the universe that it reached somebody. A message or a word after a show about how someone was touched by something that I said.
Who or what are your biggest influences when it comes to your creativity?
My friends! I have such a crazy talented group of friends and they’re all trying to express themselves in unique ways and it’s totally inspiring to see what they’re doing. We’re always talking about something someone did that blew our minds and made us want to try new stuff. It keeps it interesting. I’m lucky to know a ton of musicians but also dancers, photographers, and painters and they’re always pointing me in the direction of cool stuff.
How is your new release different than previous ones? Did you set out to accomplish anything specific?
This is my first release as Magana. The difference between this one and any previous release is that this is the closest to my own voice that has ever been put out there. I set out to make a record that sounds like “me” because it’s something I haven’t been able to do previously.
Do you face any challenges as an indie musician in a digital age? On the flip side, how has technology helped you (if it has)?
There’s a positive and a negative to the changing face of the industry, for sure. The positive is that the barrier for entry is so much lower…there’s not only one way into the game anymore and so people that don’t fit the “record label” mold and now the audience can decide if something is good or not. That just opens the door for people that aren’t perfect and polished and photoshopped to be able to play music and I think that’s healthy for our society as a whole. The challenge, of course, is now everything is so crazy over-saturated it’s hard to stand out. There are other challenges as well. Because the artist isn’t really making money, they aren’t always spending as much time on writing, recording, and touring. They can’t always afford high quality recordings or expensive marketing. And the people that hold those jobs are trying hard to figure out ways to make their lives sustainable and get their clients back.
How do you feel about streaming services? Any romantic attachments to the physical formats: vinyl, 8-track, cassettes, CDs?
Streaming as a subscription service makes me nervous. Mostly because a lot of other companies saw what was going on and now so many things I want to use cost a monthly fee. I feel like eventually I’m going to drown in these $10-$20 per month services for stuff I need. Ok ok…there are free streaming options out there too, and I’m totally into the convenience of having anything you want to listen to all in one place. I know a lot of people using the Spotify Weekly Discover list and finding cool stuff there. And I’m super into Bandcamp’s efforts to try to make a community, rather than just suck up all your money.
I still sell CDs because there are a few people out there that still drive cars with CD players, but if I could afford it, I would press vinyl. That’s the only format I think people still use as an art form. There’s something so cozy about sitting around a record player and listening to a record. I think that’s my romantic attachment. Sadly, I looked up pressing vinyl but the cost was pretty prohibitive, even for a small batch, so you won’t be seeing those from me any time soon.
Where can we follow you online and hear more music?
You can listen to two tracks and pre-order the EP here: https://maganarama.bandcamp.com/
And you can always follow me on facebook to find out all the fun stuff I’m up to: www.facebook.com/maganaofficial
I tweet and instagram (@Maganarama) as well and that’s always fun.
Anything else before we sign off?
Hi, mom!
(My mom is rad. She deserves a shout out every once in a while.)
