We are ecstatic to welcome aboard a label debutant to celebrate TOR’s 10th release – Margee. The Frenchman first caught our ear with his stunning edits of Tommy Guerrero and Daniel Norgren. His mastery of low-slung groove and heady hooks cut right through to us, and these characteristics form the backbone of his original material as well. The Amsterdam-based guitarist and producer showcases his unique ability to perfectly ride the line between dancefloor and living room listening with the Plantalk EP; a trio fit for any occasion.
We kick things off with the EP’s namesake – Plantalk. Offering the perfect summary of Margee’s sound, this one has everything you could ask for in an A-side. The vocals tell the story, juggling back and forth to form a trippy harmony. The underlying drums set a vibey rhythm, keeping the groove moving from start to finish. It’s the bassline, however, that steals the show. A punchy, warm, and round synth turns the dial as the track progresses, opening into a gritty break that allows Plantalk to place one foot firmly in dancefloor territory.
The B-side dives deeper into club-leaning sounds. Pain De Me harnesses a swirling melody, with analog stabs and otherworldly influences balancing an elongated arrangement. Margee’s basslines continue to keep the feet moving; one for the heads!
Losing Taste welcomes percussive rhythms into the fold, and continues the retro-analog theme across the EP. It’s all about the kick here – luscious builds rise with massive energy before allowing the low end to hammer it home. Blissful moments a-plenty in store for this one, when the time is right!
To celebrate the release of Plantalk, we caught up with Alex (ie. Margee) to get the low down on how everything came together in such groovy fashion.
WWD – Alex, many thanks for joining us mate! Really thrilled to finally have the Plantalk project out for everyone to enjoy.
Margee – Hey guys! Thanks a lot for believing in the EP, it’s an honor to release it on TOR and WWD platform. Everything went so smoothly throughout the whole process and it felt really relieving to know that the release was being taken care of professionally. So thank YOU !
Photo : Théo Tisserandet
WWD – We’re finding it increasingly rare to hear music that pushes the envelope, while still paying tribute to tried and true rhythms – we feel this is exactly what we have on hand with Plantalk. What methods do you use to stay creative and forward thinking in the studio?
Margee – I’m really happy to know that you see my music in that way. The 3 tracks of the EP were composed at 3 different times within the last year explaining the difference in genre between them. My moods and music attray can vary a lot at times which influences my music composing in going from slower and funkier beats to darker and more upbeat tracks. This really depends and everytime I walk in the studio I never know in what direction I’ll go into (unless I’m working on unfinished stuff). I usually base the tone of my tracks when I find a bass riff that I dig or a warm synth sound I like. From there I start to jam, gather as many elements as possible and start arranging usually the day after. I like to make music that sounds real, hence the sound of my drums, but with a touch of electronic madness, if you know what I mean!
WWD – Which artists or projects did you use as reference or inspiration for the Plantalk EP, or for your sound in general?
Margee – I wouldn’t say I am using certain tracks as reference when producing something new but what inspires me the most are these slower “funky” beats with kind of swingy rhythms together with a dirty / fierce vibe around it. A really good example for it would be “Sofian (Loyal Remix)” by Payfone (the original is great too btw) which is a track I discovered after finishing the EP actually. It’s dirty, sexy and groovy, plus the sneaky vocals that I love. Genius. The kind of track that won’t get old.
Before that, I could say that I’m being influenced a lot by artists like Iorie, Arutani, DWIG, The Revenge, Andy Hart, Mosley Jr, Luca Musto, Ooft!, David August, Nicolas Jaar, Radiohead, Bonobo, John Frusciante… and many more!
WWD – You kicked off Margee with an amazing rework of Tommy Guerreo, the beloved skate-songwriter. How did this project come together, and what do you look for in edit-able tracks?
Margee – The project started as a joke, with myself (haha), I have a small folder in my itunes with tracks I want to edit and “Battles of the Forgotten” was in there. I was in a plane going to Vietnam when I started the edit, I didn’t really know where to start since it was the first time proper editing for me.
Like “Battles” or any other tracks I want to edit, I choose them because I’m addicted to them in the first place and that I see myself taking the track into another place. When editing, I try to create a completely different track, using key elements of the original. In the Tommy Guerrero one, I used a part of the guitar as a rhythmic element in order to build the edit around it, and then spent a lot of time cutting the guitar solo and used it as the lead storyteller. It was really important for me to “respect” the original track so I wanted to emphasize on the guitar of TG and left the outro part of the song almost unchanged to pay tribute to his genius.
When I was done with it, I sent it to him, he liked it and I contacted the label Music for Dreams that was keen to release it. It went so smooth !
Photo : Théo Tisserandet
WWD – Plantalk’s blend of downtempo groove with gritty character really cuts through. The vocals also steal the show on the A-side. Tell us about the process for this track in the studio.
Margee – I started Plantalk right after finishing another really similar project actually (still looking for a label for that one) so I kept on a similar downtempo vibe. From what I remember, I started experimenting on the sound of the back synth (that comes in at 0:18), when I was satisfied I added more dreamy elements (bells and keys) to set the ambiance of the track, and started to make a very organic beat on it. I use a lot of swing in the drums in my downtempo tracks and I think this one is a good example.
When I had these elements, I started the bassline which I think is one of the key elements of the song since I also use it as a Lead element at the end of the track. Then, I found these vocals from an old sample pack that fitted perfectly so I tweaked them a bit to create a moving and sexy effect.
My idea when arranging Plantalk was to express 2 different emotions that would blend with each other in a logical way: the first part, quite innocent, melancholic and the last part more fierce and naughty. I played with that contrast to surprise the listener and create something interesting, I hope!
WWD – You’re a guitarist & bass player. How do you blend live instrumental recordings with electronic production methods?
Margee – I am not using live instruments as much as I wish actually but in Plantalk for example, it helped me round off the track after being stuck for more than 2 months. I knew I had a good piece but it didn’t sound as groovy as I wanted so I added some rythmic guitar at 3:13. I’m still not completely satisfied with the way I record my instruments and that’s why I’m not using them that much. However, being a bass player has taught me to always keep my tracks groovy, which I think is one of the most important aspects in music and is what I’m almost always aiming for in my tracks. Groove to move!
WWD – What role has Amsterdam played in your journey thus far?
Margee – Ohh Amsterdam… It has been my haven for electronic music. Coming from the South of France where I was not really going to clubs, since we don’t have these kinds of party scenes there, I must say it was quite a change for me. Started enjoying a new kind of music, going to crazy parties, taking my productions to a completely different genre and started to Dj. Most importantly I met so many different kinds of people there and made some really amazing friends. A lot of good things happened there !
WWD – Plantalk comes alongside some amazing graphic work from Louise Ben. How did you connect with the London-based visual artist?
Margee – Louise is a good friend of my sister that she met in London during her studies. Since then I was always following her works and the idea of working together with her came just so naturally that when I had these new tracks ready for TOR I instinctively thought it would be the perfect occasion to collaborate. We came up with an idea of a flower transforming into a mouth that opens to reveal another flower creating an infinite loop. She’s a super creative girl and does everything with all her heart and in the pure essence of art. I love working with people like that !
WWD – We’ve all missed DJing tremendously over the last year. What role does the live-aspect of dance music play in your production style? These tunes, especially Pain De Me and Losing Taste, feel built for the dancefloor.
Margee – The fact that I’m mostly listening to music at home now, I tend to listen to less upbeat music so it for sure influences me to produce more laid back songs. It’s also a style I’m more comfortable with but I love to experiment in other directions and that’s what I did with “Pain de Me”. Actually I started it while being on an Asian tour last year and it was a time when parties were still going. It’s true that as a Dj you want to play your own tracks and at that time I was mostly playing upbeat so I wanted to produce something I could play.
“Losing Taste though” is a 105 bpm one but sounds like a club track indeed. That’s because of the break beats and the intensity I wanted to put in the track. In this one I wanted to see if I could make a downtempo track sound like you want to lose it haha
WWD – What have been some of your favorite parties to play prior to the lockdown?
Margee – Wonderfruit, WECANDANCE, Agartha Festival, Corals, Gardens of Babylon… how I miss those times !
WWD – How do you foresee the European electronic scene changing in the long term due to the impact from the pandemic?
Margee – To be honest I have no clue haha. I hope we’ll be able to party like before or even crazier, and I think that’s what people are gonna go for since they’ve been missing it way too much.
WWD – What artists have labels have you had on the headphones of late?
Margee – Lately I found out the last album on Glenn Astro “Homespun” is genius so I’ve been listening to that a lot, together with “Alien” from Eleven Sins on Buttress Records a label I always follow cause there is amazing stuff on there! And this “Caravan” (Mori Ra Edit) track just released on Forest Jams is really my jam. One track that always gives me goosebumps is this bomb from Sascha Funke called “Surumu”, so groovy and dirty at the same time aaaargghh. One last one, this beautiful rock ballad from Steve Miller Band called “Winter Time”, just gets it right everytime… Well ok here are some other tracks I have to mention: “Nektar” – Iron Curtis & Johannes Albert, “In a Lonely Place” – (Hardway Bros Axis Dub), “Next Stop Konstantinople” (Alien Alien Remix)… You can find most of them and way more on my “Falling for this” Spotify playlist !
WWD – What’s next for Margee?
Margee – A 4 track EP in May on a London based record label which will be pressed in vinyl. I’m super excited for that one too since I got two examples for me on remix duty! Apart from that I am still looking for labels to release some other tracks I’m done with, and soon when I’ll be done with building my new home studio in France, since I just moved out from Amsterdam, I’ll start working on fresh projects, probably a live set too and hopefully start touring again !
WWD – We’re thoroughly impressed by the music that’s coming through thus far, and can’t wait to see where it goes! Thanks for connecting with us on Plantalk; I’m sure it’ll be the start of a long and fruitful partnership. All the best Alex!
Margee – Thanks a lot for the kind words guys, it really means a lot ! I hope to work with you again in the future, you’ve been really amazing in taking care of everything and making me feel like I was in good hands. Take care !
Margee – Plantalk [TOR010]
Release Date – 03.12.21
Stream – https://xyzlabel.lnk.to/Plantalk
Connect with TOR & XYZ – https://linktr.ee/wwd.xyz
Stream releases in full via Spotify: https://spoti.fi/2uDd07z
Follow Margee
Soundcloud – https://soundcloud.com/margeemusic
Facebook – https://www.facebook.com/margeemusic
Instagram – https://www.instagram.com/margeeandsound/