GRAND RAPIDS — Sitting down in the KAXE studios along the Mississippi, Maygen Lacey and Noah Newman — better known as Maygen & The Birdwatcher — talked about the creation of their new album The Americana Dream.
The record feels both nostalgic in sounds and refreshingly alive. They even played a few of the new songs for us in this exclusive interview.
Unlike their earlier recording sessions of two or three days, Maygen & The Birdwatcher took three years to make The Americana Dream. Working with veteran producer John Fields (Jonas Brothers, Miley Cyrus), the band experimented with a more deliberate, exploratory approach.
“'Let's take our time with this one. We're gonna ease into this and figure things out,'” Newman said. “But it's also interesting to, like, have something recorded and then be writing alongside of it, if that makes sense.”
Lacey added, "That was kind of, like, freeing and cool to be able to shape them how it felt they should be shaped.”
Fields pushed them to trust their guts.
“We didn't really have time in the studio to second guess this specific part. It was just like, 'It's down. OK, cool. Moving on,'” Newman said. “Want to do something weird? Do something weird.”
Working in that way shows up in “Hat Man Blues,” a song the duo described as a creative milestone that required a lot of risk-taking, while the song “Elizabeth” is their sonic North Star — a sound they will always be drawn back to.
Lacey and Newman also feel like The Americana Dream is their most diverse in regards to styles of music. The duo opened up the conversation playing a live version of “Feel Good,” a song that radiates cozy familiarity, channeling '90s country in the best way. They discussed their wink to “Can I Kick It” by Tribe Called Quest in the soulful “Hold You Down,” and the psychedelic gospel narrative in “Tokin' on the Holy Ghost,” a song that draws inspiration from the legend of "Holy Ghost Tokers" in Minneapolis, who blend religious fervor with addiction.
It is evident the pair of musicians have a magic-in-a-bottle kind of working partnership. Their songwriting process is as collaborative as it is intuitive. Often, songs begin separately before being woven together.
“It is kind of like one person is constructing the house, and then the other person picks out the wallpapers,” Newman joked.
For Lacey — a twin who is used to having someone next to her to bounce ideas off of — this partnership feels essential.
“For me, it's the only way I like to operate. The thought of me being a solo human out there writing songs ... maybe that's in the future, but I don't like that idea at all. ... [He’s] really the perfect person to write with.”
As they have recently signed with Missing Piece Records and national radio promotion, the duo remain deeply grateful for community and public radio.
“Getting your song played for the first time is like Christmas,” Lacey said. “It’s how people discover us.”
Live songs
*All songs are owned and licensed by Maygen & The Birdwatcher.
