Interview with Stagz

Stagz is a singer/songwriter who mixes elements of indie, folk and pop into her music. Born in Birmingham, England, Stagz has travelled across the country, performing original songs and is now writing her first album. When thoughts aren’t easily comprehended, her love for storytelling is lived primarily through her music, so others can relate and take away a piece of it. I caught up with Stagz to talk about her new single 'Open Up My Mind', almost falling for a scam and what's next for her.

Hi, how are you?

I’m good thanks, thank you for having me!

How would you describe your sound to the readers?

Good question. I think my sound is whatever I feel at the time. I don’t often like fitting into a category which makes for interesting sounds when it comes to writing my music, but if I were to fit into a type, I’d say more folk, indie or easy listening.

Who are your biggest musical inspirations?

I listen to a lot of music, in many different genres which is probably why I don’t make the same style of songs half the time. But I think ‘Hozier’, ‘Ben Howard’ crossed with other random playlists I hear all the time. I love Melanie Martinez and her style of sound, I have taken a lot of inspiration from her style of writing in the past.

Your new song ‘Open Up My Mind’ is out now! What was the process of making this song like for you?

It was basically a spur of the moment. I was, similar to the lyrics, laying in bed and it just came to mind. I don’t think I really had a process necessarily, but I do often get ideas and just add stuff as I go. Sometimes I play around with different styles of synth and find the perfect sound that encourages some lyrics!

This song has a very dreamy and chilled vibe to it, which I love, is that what was intended when you originally set out to make this song?

Pretty much, the intention was to bring the listener to a stand point in their mind and feel like they want to close their eyes. My original thought was to make it feel like you’re driving at night time and listening to the track. Which is still possible, but maybe skip out on closing your eyes for that.

Lyrically this song is quite dark, almost haunting in a way, what was your main inspiration behind the words? Do you have a favourite lyric from the song?

I think my favourite lyric is ‘I deny the night of sleep, when you look into my eyes. I feel the light exist, with your body next to mine.’ I think that line fits the theme of the song perfectly and how mental health can really take a toll on you. Then having somebody or something you love relax you enough to keep your thoughts at bay, when those unwanted thoughts get too loud. I think it’s also really important we can discuss mental health openly. Open up my mind is about trying to be comfortable with allowing yourself to open up to someone and confront those demons.

Can we quickly talk about ‘William’, the scam song you’ve just put out as well? I think that it’s really cool that you made a song inspired by receiving, and nearly falling for, a scammers message.

I like a challenge. I think scammers now are getting incredibly harder to spot and it is easy to fall for something like this, depending on experience with scammers and how they work. I also think songwriters are often trying to find work and ways of writing for people, so it is hard to make those conversations online about receiving payment for your work, when you constantly have a feeling you will get scammed. I often try to laugh about these situations but it’s not a nice experience to go through if you do end up falling for them. I think William is my way of laughing it off and trying to move forward.

You have released quite a few songs now, are they part of a bigger project?

I am in the middle of writing an album called ‘Somewhere on Pluto’. I would like to have it complete by the end of this year but who knows? I’m very picky and like things to sound perfect, which is why sometimes I take things down and start again. The lyrics I often write are about relatable issues or things we are afraid to discuss with each other and I want those tracks to be perfect or at least close to.

What’s next for Stagz?

Well, I have finally finished all of my assignments at University and I will probably stick around and finish this album. I want to really progress as a songwriter now and focus on working with other people and allowing my work to be seen. So hopefully you’ll hear more from me soon!

And lastly, what music have you been listening to recently? Anything you can recommend to us?

Not going to lie, ‘Girl In Red’ is my go to as well as ‘Wolf Alice’. Sometimes I just pull up one of those specific mood playlists and listen to those because it’s easier to discover new music that way. If I didn’t do that I’d probably listen to the same playlist on repeat and half of my playlist hasn’t been updated!

Thanks for taking the time to answer these questions, it’s really appreciated.

Thank you for having me!

You can listen to 'Open Up My Mind' on Soundcloud now, linked below, and make sure you follow Stagz on Instagram to keep up with her new releases and upcoming projects. You can also catch Stagz performing at our Summer Daze Festival on June 12 to support Girls Against, so be sure to tune in for that at 7pm on our YouTube channel.

Listen to 'Open Up My Mind' on Soundcloud here.

Follow Stagz on Soundcloud here.

Follow Stagz on Instagram here.

More information on our Summer Daze Festival here.

All After Midnight links here.

Music Submissions and Enquires to aftermidnightblog1@gmail.com