InterView: Margot Day – Immersed in Nature Magic0

From The Plague to Metamorph, Margot Day’s life and music is a journey through fantasy, as she speaks with ReGen about her latest offerings.
 

 

An InterView with Margot Day of Metamorph

By Ilker Yücel (Ilker81x)

Margot Day made quite an impression in the ’80s as a member of The Plague, one of the New York City goth scene’s highest profile acts. With her voice and flute as her instrument, she has presented her formidable skills as a poet and songstress across numerous projects since, with Metamorph being her latest musical outlet, coming full circle with a brand of ethereal and fantastical goth/rock that hearkens back to her days in The Plague… although perhaps with a brighter shade. It’s perhaps no surprise that the band’s latest album, Kiss of the Witch saw Day offering a new rendition of one of that band’s most beloved songs, “Empress,” while also embracing the modern era with production duties taken on by Erik Gustafson of Adoration Destroyed, as well as remixes by Xris SMack! and SPANKTHENUN. ReGen had the opportunity to speak with Margot Day about her revisiting “Empress” and her perspectives on the music that she’s created over the years, collaborating with her daughter Julifer, and touching on her melding of recording technology with the magic of nature and the elements.

 

First, I must ask… how are you? How’s your health?

Day: My health is great – I feel 20! I had what I consider a miracle healing both spiritually and medically in 2016. It’s shocking to be pain-free after years of pain, so I’m grateful. Metamorph began because after the healing, I felt summoned to make and share music again. We made a Metamorph healing documentary that you can view on YouTube.

 

 

Let’s talk about ‘Empress,’ a remake of a song by The Plague, which you had once fronted. Tell us about the history of this song as far as your involvement – what are your recollections about how it was written, what themes or feelings you were trying to express when it was written?

Day: Late at night long ago, I was in upstate New York (where Rip Van Winkle went to sleep) walking alone through the dark-eyed night deep in the woods with the large, towering trees and I heard this ethereal voice singing. This mysterious unearthly voice was the inspiration for The Plague vision – music that was both eerie and beatific, utterly goth. ‘Empress’ was the first Plague song. I wanted to make music that embodied darkness and luminosity. The Plague was part of the early ’80s NYC goth movement. My vision for goth and my music was and is merging the dark and light, beauty in the darkness, and revealing other dimensions visible in nature – magic to help us remember who we are, find our path, and follow our dreams.

Performing the song now, how much did you find that your perceptions have changed from when it was first written?

Day: The song’s message is timeless and remains the same. These ‘Empress’ lyrics summarize, ‘Wear your cape of darkness, wear your cloak of light… in the dark-eyed night, you are the Empress… hear the voices calling… voice of your dreams…’

On the song, you work with producer Erik Gustafson. Tell us about that working partnership; how much do you feel your two styles were complementary to each other and strengthened your creative vision for the song and for Metamorph?

Day: Erk Gustafson is the Metamorph producer and alchemist. His goth expertise is immeasurable, and we have a working telepathic connection. With the help of the guitarist Don Sinclair, I laid down the basic guitar tracks in LogicPro, creating a song skeleton. In the original Plague version of ‘Empress,’ we used the inside of an old piano to make the dissonant weird chords that you hear in the background. Don recreated that dissonance with dark guitar chords. I added a catchy melodic pre-chorus, recorded flute and vocals. The tracks were sent to Erik to produce and add more guitar, instruments, and beats – amazing alchemy. As Erik says, ‘Why go black when you can go midnight?’

Conversely, what sorts of challenges or obstacles did you encounter?

Day: The original Plague version of ‘Empress’ felt sacred to me, like a beautiful jewel – how dare I touch this? How to honor the song? What would Bones, the original Plague bass player, think of this new version? I treaded carefully and with respect, merging the old with the new.

As well, you work with your daughter Julifer, your two voices – ‘Past meets the present and makes a wish for the future.’ Tell us about the creative partnership with Julifer – how did you feel that her perspective on the song or music as a whole affected your outlook and how you wanted to approach ‘Empress’?

Day: Julifer’s voice is so similar in tone, and yet different; she has the same three-octave range. But there is also a honeyed smokey sound to her vocals. Then there is that fresh sound and vision of youth that is merging with me in my ageless elder self. Julifer has always been my muse. Julifer’s vision and perspective are integral to Metamorph; she is a deeply woven part of Metamorph and this new album Kiss of the Witch. She contributed vocals, lyrics, and vision.

 

 

Throughout history, the younger generation is always simultaneously seen as ‘the hope for the future,’ while also having to face the derision of an older generation struggling to maintain authority or relevancy. This might be a broad question, or one that seems a bit like poking the bear, but what are your observations of your daughter and her generation and what you feel they will be bringing further to the world?

Day: Interesting question. Let’s poke the bear. I have a lot of friends that are my daughters’ age and I have been thinking about the millennials and the new generations and this question of ‘hope for the future.’ I think the older generations have done a disservice to the world, but it is the fault of political powers that be. For a long time now, the masses have been pushed down; perhaps always. There are recent generations that got lost and died because of the propaganda that ‘getting high and wasted was cool.’ We lost many talented and intelligent people to that lie. And now, some of these new generations are also completely lost, hypnotized, and perhaps brainwashed, mesmerized by their phones and the new AI algorithms. But some people, both old and young, are utterly immune to the propaganda and see very clearly what is going on. And there is a back to nature resurgence – grow your own food, ecomancers, that echo the hippies of the ’60s. Fascinating. And there is cutting-edge new music from these new generations. Julifer lives in L.A., and she is one of my lifelines to what’s new. Inspired, I have woven nature magic and revelations into my lyrics on this new album. Perhaps all is not lost, and love will win.

We do seem to be living in an age of nostalgia – many older styles of music are seeing resurgence, older bands reuniting or dipping into past material, remasters, reissues, vinyl and cassettes have returned, etc.
What are your thoughts on this?

Day: Such a blend and diversity of genres, options for technology, respect for old and new… love it!

Outside of music, what are you most enjoying right now? Watching movies? Reading? Hiking? What gives you the most joy?

Day: Snuggling my tiny Metamorph mascot Melody. Dancing in the rain. Swimming with the mermaids. Gardening with my twin flame Kurtis – growing flowers and food. Going to clubs in the cities and festivals in the country. Making jewelry with bones, clay, and crystals. Making little Metamorph ‘reels’ for IG and FB and TikTok. I love eating superfoods like strange tropical fruits. And I like trying to see the future with Tarot cards. Riding my bike. Going for walks in the jungle, the forest, the beach. Drinking wine and dancing. Enjoying the fairies while immersing myself in nature magic.

 

Margot Day/Metamorph
Website, Facebook, Bandcamp, YouTube, Instagram

 

Photography by Victoria Zolnoski – provided courtesy of Margot Day