By Keith Walsh
Since the 80s, Margot Day has created exciting goth rock, first with loud guitars in The Plague, and now with Metamorph, in an electronic style. Metamorph’s new song “Witchlit,” expertly produced by Erik Gustafson (Adoration Destroyed) is a real banger. It’s an inspirational tune, reminding us that witchery doesn’t always equate with darkness and doom. I chatted with Day in an email exchange and got to the heart of her music and message.
Synthbeat: Witchlit is basically a love song. Have you ever cast a love spell and do they work?
Margot Day: ‘Witchlit’ is a romantic love song of heartbreak, twin flames, and my personal craving for love. But ‘Witchlit’ is also a song of universal love, as are most of these new Metamorph songs for our new album that will drop in the fall. It’s kind of strange that you ask me about spells right now because very recently I have been thinking about this subject a lot while recording a cover where I felt caught up in a whirlwind of spells and remembered that songs can be spells. Song spells to heal the world and help us shine through the darkness in these dystopian times. I want to keep the name of the cover song a secret surprise for now.
Synthbeat: What’s involved in casting a love spell?
Margot Day: Just stirring love and hope in a cup of coffee is a spell of some kind. Nature is full of useful tools for all of us to use such as flowers, the ocean, fire, earth, rain, and wind. The things that feed our spirit and our soul like the moon and the stars can feed our magical power. Sex magic.
Synthbeat: When David Bowie came out with The Next Day in 2013 at the age of 66, it inspired me that someone of his age could create such an amazing collection of songs. It inspired me to get more creative. What’s your opinion on the idea that we can rock on forever?
Margot Day: F#@k yeah Rock on!! I hope to be that badass 90-year-old lady on the stage making music wearing Docs and a leather jacket. Great art should be timeless and ageless. FYI my mentor and family friend Eileen Kramer is 108, famous, and still dancing and making videos in Sydney Australia. She looks like a gorgeous ethereal waif. Rock on forever for sure!
Synthbeat: The track sounds amazing. What did Erik play, what did you play?
Margot Day: I sing the main hooks and melodies and create the song structure on Logic Pro. That’s what I love doing the most – I love making catchy tunes. Lyrics are written by both myself and my daughter Julifer Day. My vocal range has many octaves, so I enjoy layering my vocals – and I play the flute on most of the songs. I record on a high-tech portable studio deep in the forest or the jungle – because nature magic is an integral part of my musical process. Then I send the tracks to Erik Gustafson the Metamorph alchemist. Erik is brilliant, he does all the instrumentation (synth, bass, guitar, beats) and production. Our musical alchemy is pure magic.
Synthbeat: What has changed about your message from The Plague days to Metamorph?
Margot Day: The message has expanded since I fronted The Plague in NYC in the ‘80s. But The Plague also revealed concepts of dark and light. Death and rebirth. Beauty in the night. We were creatures of the night – Gothlings -outside of the mainstream normality. As a witchy goth all of this is still part of the message. Metamorph expanded The Plague vision.
With these new song spells I want to help others transform pain, sorrow, and the shadow self so we can shine love into the shadows–to be Witchlit and together illuminate the darkest corners of the planet.
Margot Day dot com
Metamorph On Facebook
‘Witchlit’ On Spotify
‘Witchlit’ On Bandcamp
Metamorph ‘Kiss Of The Witch’ On Synthbeat.com
Metamorph/Margot Day Interview On Synthbeat.com
Erik Gustafson/Adoration Destroyed Interview on Synthbeat.com
