Mik Dagger
Interview With Mik Dagger
SBS: Welcome to our pages! Whether you’ve been here with us in some way before, or you’re brand-new to the site, it’s probably best to get an introduction from you so that we get everyone on the same page to start. Tell us a little bit about the history of your music, and what’s happening with it lately!?!
Mik Dagger: First off, thank you so much for doing this! I think the concept is so amazing and I love that you guys truly want to, not only work with, but essentially offer free resources to the music community. I’m an independent artist based in North Carolina. I’m signed to Stereo Era Records, and I released my first EP with them last year (which you guys actually reviewed). I know in your review of my record there was some confusion about my age and background, and I’m so excited to be able to clear up questions and share my story.
I always had an interest in music from a young age. I would put on “shows” for my relatives and friends often. My mom says I would come up with songs and constantly repeat them over and over again. I got my first iPad when I was nine and it had GarageBand on it which was truly the start for me. I was also gifted a guitar and ukulele for my birthday. I began experimenting with sounds and loops, and recording vocals with my wired apple headphones or even just the iPad microphone itself. At ten I recorded my first few “real” songs. One included running bath water as one of the sound layers. They definitely weren’t the same quality songs that I make now at 22, but I was indeed producing and writing my first songs at ten.
I actually became really inspired by poetry as a teen – I would devour poetry books from all sorts of writers and draw from them. Though controversial, Charles Bukowski was one of my favorite authors and many of his works influenced my own writing style. My mother is also an amazing poet and artist, and reading her art growing up definitely impacted mine in a positive way. I come from a long line of women who love words, and I am no different. I love writing poetry and I find that music, for me, is akin to putting a poem to sounds and ambience. I never gave up music and I continued writing and making art all throughout my teenage years. I would travel often to Europe during my childhood and those trips inspired me greatly, along with my chaotic home life, and of course, first relationships eventually.
I’m currently working on another collection of songs – I’m a perfectionist and in all honesty I need to get over it. I have a few that I am beyond excited to share, and they all have such an incredibly unique sound and feel. I write all my songs as the emotion comes to me which makes my writing process special in that I process through everything in real time. I have the record concept in my head and it’s so cool and raw. I’m hoping for a fall/winter release this year and possibly a single coming soon. We will be crying and dancing, possibly at the same time.
SBS: Let’s talk about the before and after of where you’re currently at. What’s something about the music that you’re making now that you don’t think you could have done five years ago, and what’s something you think you’ll be able to do with your music five years from now that you can’t do today? How have you grown as an artist/band, and what steps do you take to continue your artistic evolution?
Mik: I’ve developed a lot as an artist and human being in the last few years and I want to come at music with more tenacity in the next couple years. My producer teaches me new things every single time I’m in the studio and I take that information and use it at home when I’m making things. I have done a lot more co-working with other artists in the past year and it’s such a nice feeling to work alongside other music-minded people. I honestly am excited for where new technology can take us in the industry, there are obviously nuances to it but I think music has become so much more accessible to people and I think that’s a wonderful thing.
SBS: If you were to assess the overall health of the independent music scene right now, what would you say? What are the positives and the negatives about the current state of independent music, and what do you feel like artists & bands can do to contribute to the community & help it grow beyond the music being made? If you’re not actively looking to listen to the music of other independent artists/bands, is it really all that fair to expect anyone would listen to yours? How do you help the scene around you grow?
Mik: I completely agree with the statement about how if you don’t listen to/support other local artists, how you can expect anyone to listen to yours. The music scene, especially in a local context, is very give and take and I think it’s both a good and bad thing. I love to collaborate with other artists in my area and I find that that is a huge way to support and contribute to the community. Bouncing ideas off one another and falling into the music together is such a beautiful headspace to be in. I would love to see a local place where artists can go to do this, low or even free of cost. A collective, almost. I think the rising prices of everything are truly a threat to the accessibility people have to music right now. No one should be priced out of their fucking art. Artists are really going to have to band together even more so now than ever.
SBS: What do you consider to be the biggest accomplishment or achievement you’ve had with your music to-date? How do you personally measure your own success – is that something that even can be measured? Is it awards, accolades, chart position…or is your definition of success based on something entirely different? Should success, however you define it, be something that artists are continually focused on – or is success something that naturally occurs in the course of doing what you love to do?
Mik: Honestly, when I think of moments in my music journey where I’ve felt the most proud, I would say when my song “Fake Color” hit 100k plays when I was around 14. I had posted it on SoundCloud and it kind of blew up. I freaked out and deleted it though, along with my prior SoundCloud account. I have it posted on my current one though, with less plays. It was more of just a fun little secret to me looking back on it. I also felt so amazing on my Deadly Love EP release day, like holy fuck! This is done! I couldn’t believe it. The reception was so amazing, too. I met so many awesome people through that release.
SBS: When you’re working on something brand-new, and something about it just doesn’t feel like it’s coming together the way that you think it should, how do you know when it’s time to give up on it, or how do you know that it’s time to dig in even harder and find a way to make it work? Are there distinct red flags you can hear when something’s not working? What are the signs you look for that tell you to stop forcing the material? What would actually encourage you to keep going with the process instead?
Mik: I think it’s truly an artists’ instinct. If you have an ear for music, you can more than likely hear something and be like, “This sounds amazing,” or “This sounds like shit.” For me I just have an intuitive feeling – if I feel drawn to a particular project of mine, I usually just push through the slump and try and figure out what exactly is off about it. It can take a long time, for me though. I don’t know if any of you believe in star signs or astrology, or any of that shit, but I’m a Virgo and if you know, you know. If things are off, it really sticks out to me. My producer and support system is also great about being super honest about my music. They will tell me if a song has “it.” Of course, as an artist you’re going to have favorites and ones you’re less fond of.
I have a song that’s actually amazing, and it’s like everyone’s favorite. It definitely has a distinct feeling and aura of longing and sadness – it’s just so fucking raw to me that I can’t listen to it enough to have it on a record, I don’t think. It reminds me of a period in my life where I was just so sad. Beyond sad. I battle with myself on it because I know it’s a good song and great art, but it’s just a lot. I’m a super emotional person, especially when it comes to music. I associate it so poignantly with eras of time. I can listen to my songs and time travel back to how I felt and what I was going through.
SBS: One of the points of general consensus in the art of making music, is that we all get our sound from somewhere…we hear what we like, then more often than not, we take tiny pieces of what we love to find our own voice & approach to go on and make music in our own way. Essentially, what I’m saying is that it’s absolutely natural to be inspired by other artists/bands, and almost every artist/band ends up having that inspiration show up in their own work in some way, shape, or form. What the real key is though, is retaining your own organic perspective – you still wanna be original too, right? So how do you go about doing that? Are there artists or bands that you know have been an influence on your style & sound? How were you able to incorporate that influence without becoming too noticeably derivative and still be yourself? Should we embrace and celebrate our influences more than we do? It’s almost like we try not to admit influences exist in the pursuit of being original, but it’s like, bruh…if it’s there, we can hear it. We all borrow something from those that came before us to some extent, don’t we?
Mik: I fucking love art and I fucking love other artists. I’m inspired by so many people that it’s difficult to even narrow down. I think there’s different kinds of inspiration as well, like you can love and admire someone’s style but maybe not really be particularly influenced by their music or movies or whatever art form it may be. I really admire Chappell Roan’s eccentric and outrageous looks. I think she uses her own makeup and nails and outfits as a visual art alongside her records and it’s so damn cool. I also really love Charli XCX right now. I know a lot of musicians and critics had a lot to say about it, but it’s like, sometimes people just want to fucking dance and freak out. Her vision was just insane. I actually love the production on Brat and the instrumentals are so sick. Good art is controversial and doesn’t necessarily need to be “understood” by everyone. Lorde was also always a huge inspiration for me growing up because of her lyricism and also her voice. Her voice was just so unique and different from other releases at the time. I love Grimes as well. She’s so weird and she just does whatever the fuck she wants. She is not afraid to make music that isn’t for everyone and I love that.
SBS: Has there ever been a time where you wrote something inside one of your songs…maybe it’s a lyrical line, or maybe it’s a riff of some kind…something that you did, where you surprised yourself? I like to think we all have a moment or two where we can stand back and be amazed by something we created, and appreciate the fact that maybe, just maybe, we exceeded our own expectations of what we thought we could accomplish – you know what I mean? Get as specific as you can so the fans out there know what they should be paying attention to when they hear it – what’s your favorite thing that you’ve written on the inside of one of your songs, and why does this particular piece resonate so much to you?
Mik: I actually have a few lines from my songs that are particularly close to my heart. “Deadly Love,” the song, is probably one of my all-time favorite things I’ve made. The lyric “Only care when I stop breathing, past tense like my heart stopped beating,” stands out to me from an emotional standpoint. I know a lot of people have had shitty relationships, but when I tell you I was in the WORST, I mean it. I am a lover and I see people for their souls, which has led me down interesting roads. I felt like I would just have to fall over and die to finally get him to see how shitty he was.
I also have a line from a song that isn’t out yet called “Foxes,” and the opening line is “I’m not apprehensive but I’ll wait until I’m certain – I would say it’s butterflies, but you just make me nervous,” and I just love the song and the realness of it. Sometimes I just sit down and my whole soul goes into a song, and this is one of those times. Every now and then I’m able to capture a feeling perfectly. It’s so satisfying.
Like I said before, a lot of my songs are inspired by poetry I have written, so my lyrics are one of the most important parts of the whole song to me. The song is usually built around the words. “Postscript” is a great example of that. The whole song is wordplay and poetry. One of the lines “Cancel the tickets, I’d rather alive, cause coughing’s/coffins for dead people, I will stop time,” This was written during the height of Covid in 2020 and was inspired by my manic road trips across the country with my stepdad. It was the worst of times. I was due to graduate in 2020 and we had to have a drive through graduation. No prom. Everything was closed. My mom and stepdad separated that year, as did I with my boyfriend of several years as a teenager. My stepdad and I would not be able to fall asleep due to being antsy, and we’d just get up and drive through the night across the country from North Carolina to Utah or Colorado or Arizona to clear our minds and do mushrooms with his shaman friend. I wrote a lot during this time and I had a lot to process.
SBS: I’ve been having a lot of great debates lately about whether or not everybody that’s making music has the right to be heard…and you’d probably be surprised by how different people seem to feel about this issue. I know where I stand on it, and I think you can all probably get an idea of what my position would be from this free interview we’re doing here & the way we run things at sleepingbagstudios…but regardless, I’m putting this question out there to you, because I’m interested in YOUR perspective. Just because you’ve made a song, does that mean people should listen? If your answer is yes, do your best to explain why you feel that way & why we should make a sincere effort to listen to the music of others. If your answer is no, explain why you feel that way, but also explain why people should still be listening to your music if that’s the case – what would make your music the exception, and not follow the rule? Is there any value to an idea that’s not finished, or a song in its demo stages, or maybe something that’s not recorded in a top-shelf studio or with good equipment – somebody still took the time to make that song to the best of their ability with the means they had to create it – should that be listened to, or not?
Mik: I don’t think everyone is going to like everything. Art is subjective. What resonates with one person isn’t going to resonate with another. I think that goes for mostly anything in life. I do think it’s good to give an honest effort to listen to people’s music, though, even if it’s not your usual cup of tea. I view it like eating a new food; if you don’t like it, you don’t have to eat it again, and maybe you’ll have the opportunity to expand your taste or learn something new. I’ve even been inspired by artists I didn’t necessarily like.
There is obviously nuance to this topic though, like getting into if it’s worth listening to an artist who is publicly known to be a terrible person (racist, abusive, etc.). I think most artists are at least somewhat troubled, and I’m typically unsurprised when artists have public issues relating to their character. I think there is a general stance of separating the art from the artist, but I do think this is subjective to individuals and what your personal values are. I certainly don’t think we should be carelessly funneling our money to humans who have made their reputation on racism and cruelty to others, however. Artists make next to nothing off of streams though unless they are superstars, and even so, they make their money primarily on tours and off of merch, etc.
I’m just one person and I don’t have the answers. Try new music! Support new artists! Don’t support racist pieces of shit!
SBS: There are ups and downs in the dynamics of almost every album we listen to, with very few exceptions. Even those exceptions, probably still come down to more of a personal preference about what we enjoy about music and how we personally hear it, rather than anything being completely and totally “perfect” – you know what I mean? Does an album actually need to have some kind of up/down dynamics in terms of what’s appealing to the masses in order for the best of the best songs in a lineup to be fully appreciated? Wouldn’t every artist & band avoid the ‘down’ side (less accessible/less popular for example) if they could? Does the ‘down’ side represent something else perhaps, like the story of an album or journey of an artist? Is the ‘up’ side of a record as potent or noticeable if it doesn’t have a ‘down’ side to go with it? Would a completely balanced album somehow be boring if it didn’t have the ups/downs that most have? Do we HAVE to like every single song on a record for it to be considered complete? Are the dynamics of an album something anyone can really steer in the direction they want to, or are all artists & bands simply going with the strongest material they have created at the time?
Mik: I don’t think every song on a record is made to be loved. I don’t even make art that I think everyone will love. There has to be a flow to a record that builds in the beginning and kind of mellows out; or you tuck away your “filler” songs among the ones that are “stand-outs.” I think the “down side” songs on an album are usually there to complement and add to the stand-out songs. It all has to do with the flow of an artist’s album. There’s no proof of evolution without the good, bad, and the ugly. It all goes together. I love all my songs, but of course I have favorites. I believe most artists can say the same. Even the less palatable songs on an album hold importance if they made it on the album. I trust a musician’s judgement, even if it’s not what I’d pick. There’s a creative vision there and it’s there to be curious about.
SBS: I wanna send out a shout-out to YOU from me personally – I appreciate everyone that has taken the time to talk tunes with me throughout the years, and I appreciate the time YOU have taken with this interview too. Because this one’s a little different in the sense that it’s been sent out to multiple people and is a little more generic in that regard, I have no doubt whatsoever that we probably didn’t get to talk to you about something you wanted to talk about – so let’s fix that! This final space is what we call the SBS Open Floor – a spot where you can say anything else you want to say to the people out there. It can be anything at all…your main websites…something else you want them to know about you and/or your music…your favorite bands in the scene right now…the secret 11 herbs and spices to the Colonel’s secret recipe – you get the idea, and it’s probably best you choose something that suits you rather than take any of my suggestions, but feel free to take the SBS Open Floor for a ride. Whatever it is you want the people to know, now is the prime time for you to tell’em! Thanks again for everything – keep in touch!
Mik: Thank you so much for this opportunity! I love that you are doing this and the questions were so fun to think about and answer. I’m so excited to share the music I have coming out with you guys, and the concepts behind the things I’m working on. I’m the youngest female artist on my label, and one of only a handful of Jewish artists in the Raleigh-Durham area. I’m also chronically ill and have mobility issues, so I want to prove to everyone that you can do anything despite the odds. I want to use my platform and art to make other people feel seen and understood. I’m excited to solidify my spot in art locally, and prove that women can do fucking anything.
Find out more about Mik Dagger from this multi-link here: https://linktr.ee/mikdagger
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