It’s no secret that life for most musicians after March of 2020 has not been easy. Couple overcoming the obstacles of being in the music industry in the midst of a global pandemic with the challenge of being dropped from a label, though, and you’d find yourself right where morgxn was before he began working on what eventually became MERIDIAN. Rather than taking it as a sign to take some time off or give up, though, the roadblocks put in his way only made the Nashville-born and based artist work even harder.
Flash forward to February 2022, and he has not only stepped out of his comfort zone on MERIDIAN: vol 1 and MERIDIAN: vol 2, but he isn’t showing any signs of slowing down soon. On February 18th, morgxn will be releasing MERIDIAN [Extended Edition], which will feature his new single, “IF I KNEW YOU IN A PAST LIFE” and a few reimagined versions of “WONDER”. The album serves as a celebration of morgxn’s successes over the past two years, making it some of his best work to date.
Ahead of the album release and just as he hits the road with Patrick Droney, we caught up with morgxn to look back on the past couple of years and talk about his journey to this point in time. Read the full interview below and pre-order/pre-save MERIDIAN HERE.
Prelude Press: You are getting ready to release MERIDIAN [Extended Edition] , which features some reimagined versions of “WONDER” and a new single, “IF I KNEW YOU IN A PAST LIFE” – what are you excited for fans to hear on the release?
morgxn: an album has changed meanings in 2022 but it has always been a vital art for for me. an album is a snapshot of a moment in time. there is no greater journey i’ve taken than to be on this MERIDIAN adventure. the songs got me through this time and this truly feels like a celebration and culmination of my life the last couple years.
You’ve talked before about how MERIDIAN: vol 1 and MERIDIAN: vol 2 were all about the journey, not the destination. What have you learned about yourself during the release of the EPs and the creation of the Extended Edition?
i wrote a sort of manifesto in june of 2020 about where this was going and said this
”meridian: is more about the journey than the destination. it is about the mystery – what lies beyond our eyesight. in order to reach the meridian plane, things have to break. there has to be so much momentum, like a plane taking off, but rather than soaring into midair, you hit a wall. but through that wall is a whole other world. there’s a world of wonder beyond.”
i think i am most proud of going through this when i could have and had a lot of fear telling me to quit. it’s not just about the making of the music – it’s about the journey of releasing it. and that’s been as epic as making it.
There’s an overarching theme about overcoming obstacles and growth throughout MERIDIAN – were there any specific challenges that you had to overcome when working on those songs?
i think i heard there are something like 70,000 songs being uploaded to spotify every day. being dropped by a label is just a right of passage at this point. but coupled with a global pandemic and a collective fear – i just really couldn’t see how i would reach people. i think conviction is something you channel and i just really believed in these songs and i’m really happy i kept going. i think that there are so many tools to connect these days so even though i had no idea how – i just kept trying things. i’m still continuing to learn and share and grow. and that’s a lifelong adventure.
What was it like to navigate the release of vol 1 and vol 2 in a post-covid world? How did it change the way that you operated or even wrote music?
MERIDIAN finally brings WONDER and the journey of that song into one house together. i really just went with the adventure. i let WONDER go on it’s own journey and now i feel like it’s one big homecoming. i’ve grown to love zoom and writing in new ways. i recorded my own vocals on WONDER which was a first. i think there were a lot of moments where i was like “i’ve never done this” but i just leaned in and have learned so much about the tech side of things.
How do you feel that you’ve grown with the releases of MERIDIAN over the past year?
similar to my last response i just feel like i am always in a place of learning and growing and trying new things.
What would you like for fans to take away from the album?
hope. connection. wonder
You’re also sharing your new song, “IF I KNEW YOU IN A PAST LIFE” with the release of the album. Can you tell us a little bit about the track? What inspired it?
i actually did a past life meditation with the wonderful marcella kroll. i’ve got a podcast episode coming with her where she talks about what that is. but it was right after the meditation that i wrote this song.
Do you have any other big goals or plans for this year that you can share?
touring. festivals. already at work on my next album.
Thank you for taking the time to chat with us! Is there anything else you’d like to add?
i’ve got a new website morgxn.xyz. sign up for my email list and come hang out at a show.
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