Ahead of her most recent release “Never Forget” with its accompanying music video, which both dropped today May 27, Madds took the time to do an interview with Beyond The Stage about her song, video, friends, and where her journey is headed.
The multi-talented DJ, producer, and writer lets things speak to her and uses her notes app to jot down those words, thoughts, bullet points, and poems that spark at a moment’s notice, giving fans a glimpse into the person behind the music. She creates a form of connectedness and enhances reality through her creativity and emotiveness that builds from what she says is feeling everything tied to her mood and sensations.
Madds spoke more on this process of music discovery that can often lead to having too much music which makes her team say slow down.
“When I start producing music at night, a lot of the times it’s like emotional, a couple glasses of wine, pretending like it’s raining outside and you look out the window like you’re Kelly Clarkson all of a sudden…The next day, I’ll take the poems or the bullet points on a row and change them into a song. So it’s like we say x equals this, let’s figure out what x is…I always end up with the lyrics first, and then I take out my keyword and start finding a melody. I always resort to kind of the same BPM. It’s always around 125, 128. That’s just that’s how I break it down.”
She didn’t recognize this love for writing from the beginning, though. She talks about how in school she hated writing because she was forced to do it and she often couldn’t relate to it either, but the whole time, it was there and was what she was supposed to be doing.
“I just never liked writing and I just I didn’t realize I was good at writing songs until, all of a sudden, I had a whole book,” Madds said. “I didn’t even realize what I was doing because it wasn’t forced to do it. It was just a natural thing I was doing. So now, I use it to my advantage like a secret power I didn’t realize I had. It’s something I did my whole life growing up…I just didn’t realize it could be used for my career because I didn’t learn it in high school. I didn’t learn it in college…Now I get it. I just wish I would have known this a long time ago. I would’ve saved so much time. I would have known it the whole time.”
Her single “Never Forget” was formed in the same way she describes before. The inspiration came from a summer vacation with her girl friends who are on the Miami trip with her shown in the music video.
After playing a song by Calvin Harris on repeat, Madds said “you know what? I want us to have our own anthem” and thus the process of creating the single began. She carries her computer with her everywhere for when innovation strikes, and it’s a good thing she had it for this trip. Each night she was mixing a little more, mixing the melody until after a year, she had the sound down and then needed to nail the story.
With the help of her team who bring her ideas to fruition, Madds was finally able to relive that summer that inspired it all through the song.
“It was really the lyrics and I was like, this is that summer, this is it. This is all tied in together, and it was so crazy how it naturally came all together. Like I said, there were no deadlines, it wasn’t even supposed to happen. My whole mind was cleared and it was nice. Sometimes you have to step back and stop focusing on what’s all around you and what’s in front of you, and that’s what I did. That’s how this song came to life.”
The friends she writes about in “Never Forget” have been a part of much more of her career and life than the one single and video, including her bikini collection “AKOSHA X MADDS” with Akosha Swim.
She considers them the backbone of her music because they have been there through every chapter of her storybook: the breakups, the makeups, the good, the bad. They’ve brought clarity in her moments of cloudiness, joy in times of sadness, and adventure to help her succumb to her bad ideas. Certain friends have guided different parts of her life and played different roles, but at the end of the day, despite their differences, they all get along perfectly and have formed a special bond.
“It’s just funny seeing how all of us are the sisterhood of the traveling song, the song that just keeps getting passed around,” Madds said.
These same friends will be joining her at some of her upcoming shows to support. In the past, they have also been on the road with her a lot. One friend, in particular, was with her the entire time she was touring with Steve Aoki to pursue her photography career on the road. The same friend then branched out and got to shoot for other artists like Skrillex and Deorro. Speaking on the experience of touring with one of her closest friends, Madds shared:
“We were both learning the ups and downs together on what doesn’t work with this industry. Having my best friend with me definitely helped. It was cool to see each other grow at the same time because that was the beginning of our careers. We both grew together, and we’re still here together, continuing to help each other.”
When it comes down to the Mexico shows, they’re always down, whether it’s for her or the tequila. Now, post lockdown, they’re all excited to get out and about and ready to have that ‘hot girl summer’ with some free time away from significant others or work. Luckily, Madds has many shows and festivals coming up where they can join her!
She will be performing at the 2021 Firefly Music Festival in Dover, DE from September 23 through 26 with popular headliners Billie Eilish, The Killer, Tame Impala, and Lizzo. Blended Austin, just two weeks before Firefly (September 10+11), is also on Madds’s stacked fall schedule. Notable performers are Kaskade, Nelly, Loud Luxury, 3LAU, and Bryce Vine.
Her most exciting show news of this year is her recently announced Vegas residency at Resorts World with Zouk Group’s Zouk Nightclub and Ayu Dayclub.
Her residency will include five shows from July 2 – August 27.
UPCOMING EVENTS
When talking about what upcoming shows she is most looking forward to, Madds shared her extreme excitement for the residency. Once she saw the lineup, she was happy to not only see people she looks up to, but also close personal friends listed alongside her. She describes the experience as being like she’s going to summer camp with all her friends.
In speaking about her day-to-day life as a DJ throughout the interview, Madds kept mentioning how she just has to go with it sometimes.
“As a DJ, you don’t really have a routine. You have to wake up, you’re going to this airport, this city, this airport, this city, this meet and greet, or this interview. You’re just used to last-minute things.”
She continues on talking about how the pandemic has changed this. She got used to everything being so calm and normal, and it’s making it harder to return to her old, unpredictable lifestyle. However, she is happy to return to that world that brings excitement to her work. The less she plans, the better. She wants to pull this attitude that she uses for writing and creating music based on the moment into her performances, as well.
When asked about her sets and willingness to change it on the spot and go with the flow when something feels right, she mentioned how she doesn’t even prepare a set until she is in the green room right before the show to get the vibe of what she wants to play.
“I’m known for being so last minute, but it just works best for me because I like feeding off of everyone’s energy,” Madds said. “I could think like these are what everyone wants to hear, but I’m not from that state or whatever and maybe it’s a completely different vibe. I want them to have fun, so I want to add what I listen to and play and what they listen to and enjoy for the best of both worlds…It’s fun, it’s adventurous, and it’s always worked out for me that way (knock on wood).”
She also talks about how before a show she hangs with people whether they’re working at the venue, friends, or locals to get a better sense of what she should include in her set. It becomes like a game show of what to play filled with questions: do you like this song, have you heard this before, would the crowd enjoy this song? She wants to know the crowd and make the experience built around them. Each city brings a new learning experience and always being open is a huge part of her music and performances.
“I see everything around me and I absorb it like a sponge,” Madds described.
As this continues to happen, she takes what she has observed and incorporates it in new and exciting ways. This is even part of her purpose and goal as an artist. She portrays this feeling of receptiveness in her songs and hopes that listeners ride that wave with her to enhance their experiences. From her first song to her most recent song she has grown and with that so has her music and so has her audience.
Before wrapping up our interview, we asked the million-dollar question – can you share any juicy details of what’s next? – and Madds did not disappoint!
“I have a Netflix series coming out, and then I have a lot more music with a bunch of very big, talented producers/DJs that will be coming out, too! This song (“Never Forget”) isn’t the only little treat that’s coming; it’s gonna be back to back every other week new stuff. Then, the Netflix series I will be filming in July while keeping up with my Vegas residency, too, and there are more festivals that haven’t been announced yet that are in different countries and I’m excited about.”
The Netflix series she mentions will be a reboot of a TV show that everyone used to love growing up and it was a hectic one. But other than that, that’s all we can share for now. You’ll have to stay tuned to find out exactly what show will help you relive your childhood!
Her friends acclaim that there is never a dull moment with Madds and we can attest to this statement after getting to experience her vibrant energy that can be felt from the opposite end of the country through a phone. We are so excited to share her journey with our readers and will continue to support her career!
Stream “Never Forget” here.
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