Paige Morgan is an up and coming musician from Richmond, B.C. whose impressive talents are bound to make her a star. Her debut single, “Never Change,” is an anthem promoting her own personal belief that everyone should be themselves no matter what and her upcoming debit album promises a whole variety of musical styles.
THE MAG got a change to talk with Paige about her musical influences, her debut album and her plans for this fall.
What is it about singing and songwriting that drew you to it in the first place?
I’ve always been really, really musical, so I started playing piano when I was really young and it kinda just evolved into singing and songwriting since I can play an instrument and stuff like that. So, it kinda just evolved in my career.
Do you have a songwriting process?
Not exactly. It changes for every song I write kind of. Like I’ll be inspired by a word or whatever in my construction writing from there or have melody that I’ve been humming for a while and it’ll kinda evolve into a song.
I read that you’re inspired by the legendary Etta James. What do you love the most about and how does she inspire you?
Well, she is got so much soul and I feel like my sound kinda resonates with that too. I’m kinda R&B soul sounding. So, I grew up listening to her as well, so that jazzy kinda rnb music I really love.
Which musician — dead or alive — would you most love to collaborate with and why?
I would say probably Stevie Wonder. He’s a legend obviously and he’s just so passionate about what he does and inspiring and he doesn’t really follow anyone else. He just does what he wants to do and I think that’s really cool. And I love his music.
Which band or singer is currently on repeat on your iPod right now?
I’m currently listening to the new Kaskade album called ‘Atmosphere.’ That is on repeat for me. That’s a good album. So, yeah, that right now. And then also Icona Pop I’ve been listening to their stuff a lot too. They’re really cool.
Why did you decide to release “Never Change” as your first single?
I think I kinda just sat well with all of us at my team. It’s a super fun, catchy song and we were kinda all – after we finished writing it – we were like, ‘This is it. This is a single’ so kinda like you just know.
What can listeners except from your upcoming album?
Lots of different things. It’s pretty versatile the album it’s got, like “Never Change,” it’s got a bunch of jazz stuff on it, but a lot of pop elements, it has a lot of R&B soul stuff, it’s got some jazzy things going on in there and then some reggae vibe on other songs.
What’s your favourite track on the album and why?
That’s a good question. I have a lot. I have this one song called “Paralyzed” which I wrote actually here in Toronto where I am at now, with one of my favourite producers of all time. He’s amazing. So, that’s one of my favourite songs. It’s gonna be the first track on the album.
Does it have any emotional meanings or do you just like the song?
I think I just like the song. It’s just a good song and it brings really, really good memories to me because that was probably my favourite song to record throughout the whole album. So i guess it kinda brings that memory back.
You were introduced to your record label, 604 Records, by Josh Ramsay of Marianas Trench. What was that whole experience like?
It was really surreal. I went with my mom, Josh bought me into the label and we just sat down and I was like just, sixteen year old, barely 16, and walked past boxes of boxes of demos that I’ve never heard even and people worked so hard for them. I walked in there with Josh and I just felt like “I mean I’m so, so, so lucky.” It was really, really cool.
Many singers cross into acting and vice versa. is that something you’ve ever considered or would you ever consider that?
Yeah, I mean, I did musical theatre growing up and I’ve always in drama class and all that stuff. I love acting. I don’t know if I’m the best at it, but, I’m never gonna say never, for sure.
Is there a particular reason why you decided to go towards the singing over the acting?
No, not really. It was just always a given in my life that music and singing was my thing. Kinda just evolved into this career without me really focusing it.
What can we expect from you this fall?
This fall I’m gonna be doing lots of local shows. I have two shows coming up in the beginning of October just doing local shows in Vancouver and gonna do some shows with other artists on my label like Jessica lee and kieran mercer and stuff so that’s really cool. And then the album should be coming out in Spring 2014.
Thanks, Paige!Check out the music video for “Never Change” below!
(Photos courtesy of Paige Morgan’s Official Facebook Page)