Interview: Brittany Maggs goes pop on ‘Underneath the Sheets’
Where R&B has permeated the identity of pop in recent years, there are still classic voices that bubble to the surface, with Brittany Maggs being one of the up-and-coming pop wonders. Maggs injects her powerful pitch and chameleon-like versatility on her first release of 2020 ‘Underneath the Sheets’. The declaration of longing for connection and honest relationships burst at the seams with energy through its sonics and Maggs’ liberated vocal. We chat to Brittany Maggs about creating the single, and her creative process.
How are you, and how does it feel to have ‘Underneath the Sheets’ out? It’s awesome. My favourite bit about writing music is getting to release it [after]. Getting that song out there having people listening to it makes me really happy.
It’s great that you haven’t abandoned the covers on your YouTube channel, but does releasing originals elicit a different feeling in you because you have more autonomy?
Yeah! I love doing my covers, and I don’t think I’ll ever really stop doing them because I love other people’s music as well. I love singing it. When I get to release my own music, that’s really exciting because these are my own lyrics, and my own words and thoughts. Getting to release that and having people hear my stuff is very exciting.
The lyrics in ‘Underneath the Sheets’ are so compelling because they feel very realistic and uncomplicated.
Can you talk about what attracts you to that style, and is that your natural writing style?
My writing process is that I basically put notes down in my phone constantly. I have pages and pages and pages of notes, and then I’ll go into a session and read over the notes and be like, ‘this is the perfect one’. When I’m writing I like to think of what people would want to hear. If I were to sing something, and if I were to listen to something on the radio, what would I want to hear? That’s how I write, and with this song, it just so happened that the lyrics worked so well together. I love this song and I’m very proud of this one.
When did you start building this song?
I recorded this single when I was still on tour with Dami [Im]. Since about November we’ve been sitting on this song…
So, it was done really quickly after your EP ‘From Me To You’.
Yeah! I wanted to get straight back into it. I didn’t want to wait too long until I released again and wanted to make sure I was constantly releasing not only covers, but my own music as well.
Your EP is in the pop realm, but ‘Underneath the Sheets’ feels like it’s even more centred in the pop zeitgeist.
Are you consciously aiming for a slow build into the heavy pop sphere with every release?
When I write, I just write what I’m feeling, and whichever direction the song takes, it takes. I don’t go into a session thinking, ‘this song needs to be more upbeat or slower than the last’. I just write, and if it works [it works]. Yes, I am trying to get more into pop, but at the same time, I just want to keep writing a whole heap.
When you start on notes, do you just leave it as words, or do you need to put a melody to it alongside instantly?
It depends on where I am! Sometimes I’ll just come up with a random lyric, like two or three lines. If I’m out, I’ll write than into my phone, and then when I get home later in the night, I’ll go on my piano and see if I can make it into a melody. Each time I’ve written something, my process is kind of different. Sometimes I’ll play piano for an hour and play all these different chords and muck around to see what comes along. Sometimes I’ll go in with just words and lyrics and build a track behind it.
With ‘Underneath the Sheets’, what were the first words you had down?
When the team and I worked on this song, we all collaborated. The other writers came up and said, ‘we have this really cool idea’, and I was like, ‘man I can relate’. I really think so many girls can relate in that they’re chasing something that’s not really there. The girls had the notes [at the beginning] for these ones and I went along with them.
Was having the female perspective in the writing what gave it the edge for you?
Yes! I love working with girls and guys, but when you work with a girl, they understand your feelings. They get it, so that was really good and gave it that extra edge. It was like, ‘you know what? We’re going to say what we want to say’. We didn’t care and were like, ‘let’s just say it!’.
Do you think collaborative environments in general have helped your creative voice?
Yeah! I’ve been in the studios a lot since I was around 15 with equal amounts girls and guys. As time has gone on, I’ve become a lot stronger as myself. I feel like in a session I can carry myself instead of being quiet and just sitting there. I’m pretty much the same in the sessions whether it’s a room full of guys, or a room full of girls. I’m strong in myself in that I know what I want to say, and how I want to say it.
What do you think is your biggest strength, or what do you feel most comfortable expressing in the studio?
I’d say definitely all of it. Lyrics are a big thing to me. I don’t ever want to sing something I don’t feel or put a lyric in my song that’s just a filler lyric. I always want my lyrics to be 100% me, and 100% real and relatable. I feel like I’ve gotten a lot stronger at saying ‘no, no, this is how it needs to be’. With melodies and the way things are sung, I used to let people tell me that [I] have to sing it [a certain way]. Now I can say, ‘ok, let’s try it your way, but can we also try it my way?’, and then we see what happens from there.
That’s fantastic, because if anybody knows your voice, it’s yourself.
Yeah, exactly. I know that, and I [still] do like getting pushed, and I like having producers push me. That in itself has allowed me to grow. That’s why I love covers because I get to test so many different types of singing and different notes That’s why I stick to covers as well, because they help train me when I go into sessions and write my own music.
It’s a talent to lend so much emotional weight through the voice whilst keeping the lyrics uncomplicated and simple, and I think that’s something you’ve done so well.
How has it been to use your voice, not just lyrics to assist the emotional range?
Whenever I record a song, I go in the booth and I have every single light off in the studio. It’s pretty much pitch black. I just put the headphones on, the producer presses record, and I just sing, sing and sing until I feel it’s perfect. I like it think about what I’m singing to make sure I can put in that emotion. Even if on that day I’m really happy, but I have to sing a sad song, I’ll [ask], ‘why was I sad the day I wrote this? Why was that feeling there?’ That’s how I get the feeling out. I hope it comes across in my music because I try tap into all of that.
‘Underneath the Sheets’ is refreshing because you hear someone young expressing longing for meaningful and sensitive connections, when sometimes it feels like we’re inundated with materialism or temporary connections.
How big of a focus in your music and what you want to release in the future? Why is it so important to you?
I have a really big heart, and I feel very strongly about love. I’ve grown up in a family where my grandparents are so in love, and I’ve watched that, and my parents for my whole life. Growing up, I’ve always thought that that’s what love has to be, but then you start to realise that other people’s thoughts aren’t the same as yours. Other people have different feelings about that kind of stuff, or they’re not on the same wavelength. I’m always going to be true to myself and stick to what I know. I have a lot of love and a lot of support around me and I always want my music to be relatable to me, but also to my audience.
Do you find that you have to take it an extra step, or put in a bit more effort to cater to the masses?
Yeah, it’s definitely intimidating because its however many people hearing your thoughts. Not everyone can say that they’ve had people hear their saddest, or happiest thoughts. When you’re writing, you have to think ‘whatever I put into this song, there’s potential for people to hear this’. It’s intimidating, but I like to do it because I hope my story, or what I say can help somebody else in their situation.
That also extends to the live aspect, because once you go on tour, people aren’t just hearing it in their own homes, you’re witnessing their reaction to it firsthand.
I wouldn’t say it was daunting, but [playing live] was definitely scary the first couple of shows I did. It’s another thing people listening behind screens because I’m not seeing their reactions or their faces. When you’re in front of people, you can see them [thinking]. Certain people are not good at hiding their emotions, and they’ll tell you. It’s kind of like a therapy. My whole EP was [that] I went through a breakup and described my feelings.
Performing live was almost like the therapy that I needed to get over that part of my life. I got to get my feelings out every single night, and people’s reactions were always happy and smiling. I don’t think I had anyone giving me bad looks which was a good thing. It’s always daunting when you have to stand in front of everybody and watch their reaction because the face says everything.
In the studio, does the same thing happen where producers and songwriters are very clear about the quality of something?
Oh yeah! That’s the producer’s job; to get the absolute best out of you. If you’re not doing the absolute best, they’ll tell you that. When I’m in the studio I work very closely with a producer named Greg, and we work amazingly together. We’re at the point in the relationship where he can say, ‘nope, you can do so much better than that, so try again’. I’ll go back and I’ll get what we needed. I’m lucky enough that I appreciate when people tell me that I’m not doing my best. It makes me want to work ten times harder.
That’s probably the only way you can be in such a competitive industry.
Exactly. Mindset is absolutely everything. In this industry, you are going to be told ‘no’, nine times, but you could be told ‘yes’ and that extra one yes is what you need. You keep working, and if you love what you do, it never feels like work anyway.
Were there any standout moments on ‘Underneath the Sheets’ where you finally pieced together how it was going to sound?
Yeah! When we were doing ‘Underneath the Sheets’, it was just Liam Quinn the producer and I in the room. We sung it through a couple of times, and then he was like ‘you know what? Let’s just get vibey. Let’s have a chat’. We spoke and got into the whole vibe of the song and as I was recording, I was pretty much bouncing up and down as I was singing to try keep the high energy, but also the emotion.
After we recorded the first verse and chorus, we went into the second verse and I [had gotten] exactly the emotion and energy I need, [and was like], ‘let’s go back and just redo the song’. We ended up redoing it, him and I and by the end of it when we finished, we just sat around playing it and dancing around. It was really fun… I work hard on my music and I love doing it, so when I get to release something it’s the most exciting thing because you release music so people can hear it, and you hope they like it. I’m glad people are liking it.
Have you gotten any specific special messages so far, or is it more of a general good reception?
I’ve gotten a lot of messages from people I’ve written with over the time, and a lot of messages from producers I’ve worked it. The team I used to work with over in LA messaged me as well, which was so much fun. I love hearing the general public’s thoughts, because they’re the people that stream it the most…
Lastly, what is coming next for you and what can we hear from you in the future?
I’ve been doing a lot of writing sessions. Hopefully there’ll be a new single coming soon. I just have to perfect it. I’m working towards an album, and hopefully I’m going to get to go on tour again at some point this year.
Will it be a full-length album?
I think that’s where I want to go. I would love to work towards a full-length album. That’s a goal… I love albums and getting to print it onto an actual CD and hold it in my hands. That’s the most exciting thing about an album. That’ll be the goal… I think that I’ll start fresh, so ‘Underneath the Sheets’ will be on there, because that’s a 2020 project. It’ll be all new songs hopefully, so I just have to get into the studio and start writing!