For this week's In Conversation we sat down with Madison Beer to discuss new album ‘Silence Between Songs’, her memoir ‘The Half of It” and love for 60’s music.
Category
🎵
MusicTranscript
00:00 Yeah, there's just been narratives and stories and rumors and things like that just constantly thrown around about me
00:06 And there's been so many people that have had opinions on who I am and a lot of those people will never listen
00:11 So I was like where can I where can I write?
00:13 What I want to say in a place that people who do want to listen will actually pick it up and read it
00:24 Hi, I'm Nick and I'm joined by Madison beer for the latest in enemies in conversation series, how's it going today?
00:30 No, you're welcome, how are you finding UK? I love it here. I always have to be here
00:36 Does it feel different to LA? Is there any kind of vibe change?
00:40 I mean, it's a drastic vibe change, but I'm I am from New York. So it's like more comparable even though I'm from Long Island
00:46 I'm a bit of a poser. I'm not from Manhattan, but it's similar enough to Manhattan that it feels it feels, you know
00:53 Help me here comfortable. Yeah. Yeah, it does your album science between songs came out in September. What's the response been like from fans?
00:59 It's been it's been really interesting. I think it's like very different from my debut album, which has been super cool. But
01:06 It's been it's been
01:08 Awesome to see how certain songs that are so personal to me have affected
01:12 People and you know the people who are listening in their own right? It's it's really cool
01:17 It's coolest thing about music to me, you know, as you say it is a different sound from life support
01:22 How would you say your sounds developed since then? I think it's definitely different
01:26 I think the thing with me is I just I love so many different types of music and I'm just a music lover and consumer
01:31 all around and
01:32 There's no genre really that I'm you know put off by I'm really interested in all types of music
01:38 So I don't know necessarily that I would say this is where my sound is now
01:42 This is just like another side of me and a side that I really wanted to showcase
01:47 Maybe you could call it more mature more serious more heartfelt
01:52 versus life support if you listen to them both back-to-back less
01:54 produced maybe more like
01:57 We use a lot of live instruments versus
02:01 Pro tools and logic and have you what but yeah, I I
02:05 I don't know
02:07 I feel like this is just another side of
02:09 The coin and there's so many other sides that I want to showcase in the future and just continue to make music that I love
02:14 at the time
02:16 Because yeah, who's to say what the next body this isn't like, you know to say this is what it's always gonna sound like
02:21 Yeah, it's not like you've reached final destination. You're kind of an early point in your journey, I guess
02:25 Yeah, what were your main musical inspirations when you were making this album?
02:29 So yeah, like this album in particular had completely different musical inspirations than my first one
02:34 mainly honestly, we were listening to a lot of
02:37 Beach Boys Beatles the zombies
02:41 I mean like the list is pretty endless
02:44 but yeah, those were kind of the main influences and we wanted to just kind of
02:48 Capture something that felt timeless in a lot of ways. I wanted people to be able to listen to this and
02:53 Maybe not know what year it was from have have sort of that like essence of you know, the classic
02:59 Ness of those other people that I had referenced just just the essence of that
03:05 When did you start getting into those kind of 60s artists? Was it like something you listen to growing up in Long Island?
03:10 No, I think I mean I actually listened to 50s music a lot growing up. I really was intrigued by it
03:17 I thought it was like so beautiful. I loved the songwriting
03:19 I
03:21 Don't yeah, I don't know what drew me into it, but I loved listening to 50s music and then I didn't really
03:25 deep dive into
03:28 60s
03:29 70s music
03:31 Until much later. I think it probably began with the Beatles. I would say is when I really was like cool
03:36 This is what I am now gonna make my entire personality trait. So yeah, I really really love the Beatles and then I obviously
03:43 Started to learn about the Beach Boys and Queen and so many other iconic
03:48 Groups and people that I that have just now shaped me so much. So yeah, they were later discoveries, but very very important ones
03:54 Yeah, it sounds like they've definitely had like a big kind of impact on you
03:57 The biggest you're also a co-producer on the album as well as a singer and a songwriter
04:01 Why is it important for you to produce? That's the first part of the question. The second is have you felt pushback from the industry?
04:09 Like allowing you to be a producer because sometimes female artists who work in the pop genre. Mm-hmm. They're not kind of given that credit
04:15 Yeah, I think that they're to answer the first part of the question
04:19 I felt it was really important to produce because first of all, I found an amazing producer who was willing to give me that
04:25 Collaboration and that title which is rare and that kind of also answers the second half
04:30 I I yeah, I mean like I don't know he just he's such a generous awesome person and he's so
04:37 Not egotistical and I think that is a thing that you run into a lot
04:40 Especially if you're you know making an album with big people they will sometimes be like no
04:45 I'm I did everything even if there was contributions made and he's just such an amazing collaborator and I'm talking about Leroy Clampett
04:52 And yeah, he was just like you produced this album with me
04:56 Like I never would go to him and be like, hey, I need I want production credit
05:01 Just because that is his role in my eyes like that is what he does
05:05 He was the one who was like you produced the album alongside me, which is just so cool
05:09 And I'm very appreciative of that and we have like other producers who worked on it like Tim Summers who goes by one love and he's
05:15 amazing and they're both just them to really have
05:18 allowed me to flourish as an artist and as a producer and and be a part of every process and like yeah not be afraid to
05:25 Ask for credit or like to be recognized for those things and I do think the industry has
05:29 Pushed back and I think a lot of that is like power dynamics and stuff
05:33 I know for me and a lot of other women we feel intimidated to ask we don't feel like we are worthy
05:39 it's it's it's like a it's something that's been ingrained in a lot of people and specifically
05:43 Women producers and stuff. So hopefully things are changing soon. That's the problem is as you say, it's a business
05:49 So you've got the power aspect and then the financial aspect people don't want to give up a share of their car
05:53 I guess and I absolutely have to totally and I do think there is a thing where you know, sometimes you'll find a
06:00 Pitch song for example, which if anyone doesn't like know what that is
06:04 Technically is people will write a song produce it they'll make it and they'll basically just pitch it to an artist if the artist likes
06:09 It they'll record it and release it and a lot of times you'll see an artist
06:12 Take a cut of the writing even if they didn't write on it, which I think
06:16 Has maybe made the production thing harder to get because they're like you already take a cut of the writing when you sometimes don't even write
06:24 The song I'm not also gonna give you a cut of the production, you know what I mean?
06:27 So I think that that maybe has had things to do with it. I don't know
06:29 I think there's a lot it's multifaceted things that have
06:33 Perpetuated this sort of like, you know, I
06:36 Don't know back and forth dance like who's worthy of what?
06:40 But that's why I really like love sticking with the people that I work with because we're so all in this together
06:46 Collaborating we have the same goal
06:48 We just want to make music we're proud of
06:50 And it really isn't at the end of the day about like who gets what and what's the percentages and stuff?
06:54 That's yeah, that's not really how we work, which is lovely
06:57 Yeah, I guess when there's that trust between your collaborators, you can actually be properly creative. Absolutely. It's very important to me
07:03 Do you tend to make most of your songs from start to finish in the studio?
07:06 Would you come in with you know, like melodies lyrics maybe even production ideas beforehand? It's definitely a mixture of both
07:12 I don't think it's like one way or the other there's times where I've been like hey
07:15 I had a dream about this idea or this song or these chords and melody came to me in my sleep literally
07:20 But there are other times where we just kind of sit on a piano pick up a guitar
07:24 Basically just throw darts at a wall until something sticks and and it's it can be like grueling as well
07:30 There's days where we will spend hours and hours on an idea just to end up not liking it
07:34 Like it's not all just because I work with the same people we get in this like groove that we just can pump out like
07:38 songs
07:40 It's still very much so work in progress or just the fun of it
07:42 It's it's really exciting and it makes you appreciate the ones that do stick a lot more. You do have days
07:47 You're like, oh my god, nothing's happening today. Oh, yeah for sure. Definitely. We all have this like
07:52 Common ground understanding or we'll look at each other around like 8 p.m. And we're like, let's wrap it up and go home
07:57 Yeah, like it's just it's not happening. There's no point
07:59 One of the the most beautiful songs on the album is rider which you wrote for your brother
08:06 Was that a really difficult song to write because it's very honest. Thank you. Yeah, I think that it was as difficult as it was
08:13 Cathartic and therapeutic I had been wanting to write a song for him for a long time and I had wanted something that was
08:20 representative of our relationship for a very long time because you know, we had a
08:25 Very bizarre in ways childhood. I mean I got Simon I was 12 and he was only 9
08:31 So we just things things changed drastically very quickly and it's been the last 12 13 years of our lives. So
08:38 Yeah, I just think there's there's a lot that I wanted to acknowledge a lot that I wanted to say
08:43 Within my own journey and healing and mental health stuff therapy, whatever you want to call it. Like I've
08:49 done a lot of you know recognizing of how I was mistreated when I was that age and how I was put in
08:54 inappropriate situations and how I didn't feel like adults were looking out for me and in that I've been able to be like
08:59 Well, if people weren't looking out for me, they definitely weren't looking out for him
09:02 Which which was like a heavy weight on me for a long time
09:06 You know
09:06 I was I felt a lot of guilt surrounding that because of course none of this would have happened without me pursuing a career so young
09:12 And it took a lot of years to sort of be like, okay
09:16 How can I articulate this in a way that feels?
09:18 Genuine, how can I apologize but also not put too much blame on myself because I was also only a kid
09:24 So it was it was this like kind of interesting dance that that I did
09:27 Yeah, I didn't I didn't quite know how to phrase it
09:30 But then one day it just clicked and it worked and he loves the song. I love the song
09:34 It's it's a very important record that I wanted on this album. Was it were you nervous to play it for him for the first time?
09:40 I
09:41 Was nervous like really based in awkwardness. Like I didn't want him to be like this is so
09:47 Extra and weird and like too much, but he was very he took to it very well
09:51 And he was very appreciative of everything I said, and I think he had potentially been waiting a long time to hear some of those things
09:57 Yeah, it's kind of amazing thing for you to have done
09:59 Considering how young you said you were at the time 12 and 9. Yeah, we were babies
10:04 Huh another song on the album King of everything kind of maybe goes back to what we're talking about the power in this industry
10:10 Yeah, what was going through your head when you wrote that song and what was the kind of message you were trying to put out?
10:14 there
10:15 That song was written. That's one of the oldest songs on the album. That song was written though. I guess yeah, like just like
10:20 mainly about male power in the industry and how there's such a
10:24 There's a few a few topics honestly with with that song
10:28 There's the direct relationship that I've had with you know, few people many people who are
10:35 Those men in positions of power that I feel have maybe abused their power. They've been
10:42 Not great with it. I don't quite know how to say it
10:46 But yeah, you know things that I've seen and I've been through that
10:48 I just sort of turned my head out of it that now I'm older. I'm like, that's crazy
10:52 But then also, you know growing up around so many like successful businessmen and you know
10:59 big celebrities and
11:01 billionaire managers or whatever it is and seeing how like truly lonely a lot of those people were and how
11:08 You could kind of have all the success and money and whatever it is in the world
11:12 And if you're a miserable person, you're gonna be miserable no matter what and it was pretty eye-opening to me
11:17 And it was something I always recognized
11:19 so
11:21 Yeah, yeah in the least harsh way possible. We wrote king of everything and
11:25 Yeah, it's just I don't know
11:28 I think I think there's a lot of lines in there that are important like whether it's the line about
11:31 How you know like the view from the top like isn't what you thought it would have been I think that line means a lot
11:36 To me because it's not just about this one, you know king of everything character that we created
11:42 It's really kind of also the idea
11:44 that there's in my opinion a lot more to life to
11:47 chase and be happy about then those things of like money and power and greed and the things that I think a lot of people
11:53 Sort of think that they want
11:56 But I think there's things like love and empathy and kindness and connection and relationships that are just like so much more fulfilling
12:03 I think that gets eye rolls sometimes because people are like, yeah sure you you make money
12:08 it's easy for you to say that but I think that like the
12:11 The level that I'm referring to and king of everything is really those like
12:16 point one percent
12:18 Wealthy successful biz. I just see like the ultimate when I see the line of like, you know
12:24 The view from the top of you if and I see someone in this like the the biggest house you've ever seen
12:29 All by themselves in a stone-cold bed that they like lay alone in and I think that yeah
12:34 It's it can be idolized in ways by a lot of people and I think that there's just more to life than that
12:41 No, absolutely. I mean, it's wild in a way that you've been in the industry for 12 years. That's half your life
12:47 Yeah, the same amount of time of time I've been in the industry. I wasn't in the industry prior crazy
12:51 I mean, this is such a big question
12:53 I imagine the answer is in loads of ways
12:54 But how have you changed in that time would you say both as a person and an artist just completely it's just yeah
12:59 I mean like I obviously from 12 to 24 have changed I hope significantly
13:04 I've learned so much so I think that like I I can reflect now on
13:08 So much that's happened and there are still memories and times that maybe like leave a bad taste in my mouth and make me think back
13:15 And be like, oh, that's you know, not great, but it's all shaped me. It's like it's life
13:19 literally, we all go through things and times and years that aren't the best that aren't great and
13:26 Yeah, I don't know I think that there's just a lot to be said of like coming out kind of on the other side of it
13:32 And also now knowing that like who knows what the next 12 years of my life will bring
13:35 It's been such a crazy roller coaster the past so
13:38 It's yeah, it's excitement. I feel a lot of gratitude. I feel
13:43 Yeah, I feel I just I feel excited and I feel like I've changed a lot
13:47 Having put out your memoir half of it early this year. Has that helped you to kind of understand who you are?
13:53 Where you're going next was that kind of important in your journey?
13:55 Do you think to kind of put put your side of the story out there on paper?
13:58 Yeah, I think that writing my memoir was like just it helped me in ways
14:03 I didn't anticipate like I didn't realize writing that
14:05 book and writing the album at the same time would actually like push me to write about certain things like my song at your worst
14:10 or writer even like definitely wouldn't have
14:13 Been a thing without the book being written at the same time
14:16 I don't think which was super interesting to me. And yeah
14:20 I mean, I I thought that it was time that I told my story through my own lens
14:23 I think that you know being in I hate like the spotlight but like that's the term that we use being in the spotlight
14:31 Yeah, there's just been narratives and stories and rumors and things like that just constantly thrown around about me
14:38 And there's been so many people that have had opinions on who I am and what I am and you know
14:44 What my character is without ever meeting me whatever it things like that and a lot of those people will never listen
14:49 So I was like, where can I where can I write?
14:51 What I want to say in a place that the people who do want to listen will actually pick it up and read it
14:56 and I think that there are you know, a lot of people that
14:58 Want to know the truth that they want to seek out what is fact and false
15:03 So yeah, I guess another a bonus of it is if you ever don't want to talk about something again
15:07 You can just say look on page 80. Hey, I've answered that. Yeah, seriously
15:11 I I see actually to this day a lot of comments where someone will say something negative about me and one of my fans respond
15:16 They read her book read this chapter and I think that that's so awesome great response
15:20 Did you kind of want to clear up?
15:22 misconceptions about you in the book or do you kind of
15:24 Are you at the point now where you don't want to be thinking about what people think about you because you've had so much of
15:28 That now that the book is out. It's like I closed it
15:31 I said everything I needed to say if you if you read the book and afterwards you still want to have like judgments
15:37 Whatever that's I can't change your mind like that's fine
15:39 But I think that I don't know like I guess again this just goes back to like this is life
15:44 And you know, I'm I know I'm still young but I am starting to realize that like you
15:48 Create your circle and you create people that do know who you are. And I think when you are exposed to
15:54 Millions of on such a big scale millions and millions of people there are always gonna be people who?
16:00 Judge you wrongly and they have something to say and they're always gonna have something to say and everyone's gonna have an opinion and you
16:07 know, I don't like what she did here and I don't like the way she looks this day and I don't I
16:11 can't spend the rest of my life dying on a hill that like I
16:14 Don't need to frankly like I have people that know me. I have fans that know me I have
16:20 People that see me and I kind of can't spend forever like trying to beg the people that refuse to give me a shot
16:27 Like no, please. I promise I'm a good person. Like I don't I don't know what to tell you, you know
16:32 So yeah, I don't I try not to pay too much attention
16:34 You could waste all your energy doing that and still get nowhere couldn't you I've done I've done it for years
16:38 I mean they were so being a 17 18 19, however old but specifically being a teenage girl and having like
16:45 What feels like everyone on the internet have the wrong idea of you and judge you and spread rumors about you
16:52 I mean like, you know
16:53 We all felt in high school what it was like to like have a rumor go around the school about you
16:58 imagine how it feels having the whole internet have something go around about you or just say negative things and there's just endless like a
17:04 Streamline of hate and mean comments. It's it's extremely difficult to grapple with it's extremely difficult
17:10 So I've just spent a lot of years just trying to figure out like okay
17:14 This is something if I'm gonna continue pursuing this career
17:16 This is something that I'm going to have to accept and be okay with
17:21 even though I don't think it's okay and I and I am very big on explaining to everybody that like
17:25 Your words do matter. You should take them seriously and you shouldn't just
17:29 You know say things because you think that you're
17:32 Safe behind a keyboard. I think that that's total bullshit being someone in my position
17:37 I have to accept that people aren't gonna just suddenly change and wake up and be like, oh
17:42 I'm never gonna leave a hate comment again
17:43 And yeah
17:44 I have to be I have to figure out what I can do to be okay with that
17:47 and I think what the answer is that I have to I have to love the person I am and then
17:52 Kind of feel like no one can mess with that. Yeah, what kind of personal strategies and safeguards?
17:57 Do you put in place for your mental health when you are, you know, really busy promoting an album?
18:01 I'm dealing with comments. Yeah, I think I just have to kind of ask myself the
18:05 Logical question of like is what you're doing good for you right now
18:08 you know when I'm sitting and scrolling aimlessly for 30 minutes and all of a sudden I'm like my brain hurts why am I
18:15 Reading thousands and thousands of hate comments about myself
18:18 Like I just I don't know if one of my friends was doing that I would take their phone out of their hands
18:23 So quickly that I have to do the same thing for myself, you know
18:26 I have to be able to be like no this is bad like discipline myself and be like I'm not
18:31 I'm not engaging. I disengage simply, you know
18:34 So yeah, that's like my strategy. That's what I do
18:37 I try to protect myself protect my piece because I do get bothered by it and that's something that I'm like
18:43 Very much so okay with admitting and I think a lot of people and artists and whatever
18:48 They'll try to you know, and and maybe they don't get affected by it
18:51 Maybe I'm just an outlier
18:52 But a lot of people will say like it doesn't bother me or whatever it it is bothersome
18:56 And I do get affected by people saying negative things about me and I get my feelings hurt very easily. I'm a sensitive person
19:01 So I just I don't engage I just shut it off. I I I know who I am. So
19:08 Yeah, what do you do to unwind?
19:10 I'm a big bath person. So I definitely
19:13 Can be caught in a bath most hours of the day with your phone in a different room or if my phone is not
19:23 Producing something toxic I can have my phone that's okay
19:26 But if I'm there are times where I'm lucky that I have a television above my bathtub in at my house, which is epic
19:33 I know
19:34 and yeah, I I think that
19:37 That's usually when I won't have my phone. I'll just like put on some silly dating show
19:42 ideally
19:44 But when I'm saying in a hotel like now, I'll usually just yeah, I have my phone my laptop, whatever
19:49 What are you proudest of in your career so far? It's a slightly cheesy question. I know no
19:52 I I love it. I think we should always
19:54 Be proud of our accomplishments. I am very proud of my last tour and I'm excited to go on tour again
20:00 Yeah, cuz there is another one coming up. There is what can we expect from the live show?
20:05 That's a really good question that I don't have all the answers to I'm figuring that out now because my last show was
20:11 My two dancers and I had like a lot of visuals props
20:15 And I don't know I think that this album and the music that I'm also making right now
20:20 Which I to be honest and trying to release another project of some kind prior to the tour, which is very ambitious
20:26 So, I don't know if it's gonna actually happen, but I would love to release like whether it's an EP or a deluxe version
20:31 with more songs
20:33 So that maybe is coming. I feel like it calls for a band. I feel like
20:38 But I don't know what else so I don't know what's gonna be subtracted or added
20:42 But yeah, it's gonna be different for sure
20:44 But I'm very very excited for it and I hope that everyone watches comes
20:48 Are you good with the touring lifestyle partly all the traveling and I guess secondly the fact that your days built around 9 p.m
20:54 on stage I
20:55 Am in a lot of ways. I think that I learned so so much on my last tour like I
21:00 Didn't have many off days didn't have many off hours
21:03 I was kind of kind of always like my schedule was pretty much constantly filled and and by the middle of my tour I was
21:10 Over it in a lot of ways like I wasn't over the shows
21:13 The shows were the best part of the day and you know from 9 to 10 30. I was on cloud 9, but I
21:18 The rest of the day was was taking a huge toll on me and I was just like exhausted mentally physically
21:24 Wasn't getting enough sleep because you're on a bumpy bus and I don't sleep well on it
21:28 And just just there was just a lot of factors that really really exhausted me that made the most fun part of my life
21:34 Not fun. Yeah, but I think I just learned a lot like I really didn't have any alone time in my last tour which was just
21:41 Overwhelming over stimulating. I just I don't know. I know now I know what I need, you know
21:45 So I'm going into it excited and I feel like I'm gonna be able to sustain a lot better
21:48 Do you have a bath in your tour bus?
21:50 Sadly, they don't the technology is not quite there yet, or maybe I just don't have the budget for that yet
21:56 But I don't have a shot. I don't have a bath. I do have a shower which is you know, I'll take take what I can get
22:01 Hot water. I just like I think it just does maybe it's because I'm a Pisces
22:06 I don't know but I just it does something to me. It helps me calm down a lot. So
22:10 Yeah, I think I think I'll work on the bath on the bus though. I asked because when you mentioned bath earlier
22:16 I remember reading an article where Dolly Parton says she's got a tiny tiny bath in her tour bus
22:20 So maybe if you could borrow hers
22:22 That's impressive because usually like it's a tank of water
22:26 That's underneath the bus and honestly like I had to time my showers on the bus like they couldn't be longer than three minutes
22:31 Like I was like had to be in and out
22:33 Because the tank will run out and I mean the last thing you want is like to be halfway
22:38 Shampooed and then all sudden there's no water in the bus. So I would like time it perfectly every time
22:42 So I never had to deal with that
22:44 Sometimes the water would get really cold though, which that wasn't fun
22:46 So she must have a big water tank under her bus. I feel like her boss will be like a big sink
22:51 I don't think it's gonna be like a luxurious tub. Sure, but still it's kind of amazing. No, definitely. I'll take that
22:56 I'll take a big sink in the UK
22:57 We also know you did a big dance collaboration a few years ago with their Jack stones and Martin Solveig
23:01 Is that something you'd want to do again?
23:03 It seems very different to the sound that you have at the moment, but you mentioned you're always kind of developing
23:07 So would you be open to that kind of thing again? I like I said, I love all music
23:11 So yeah, I would definitely be open to that. I think there's so many awesome
23:13 DJs and you know, I don't know what you would categorize it as but like electronic EDM, whatever it is
23:19 I love all types of music. I would love to do something like that again and people loved that song. Yeah, it's huge
23:25 If there anyone who's particularly on your top your wish list for collaborations
23:30 Paul McCartney is top on my wish list for collaborations. But um
23:35 Yeah, that's that's all I'll say cuz everyone else. I'm actually trying to work
23:39 But Paul if you watching this hit me up you haven't ever met him. No
23:43 I don't think I'll like live to see the next day if I if I meet him
23:48 You never know why you're in London. He could you could bump into him
23:50 Last question again, it's a cheesy one when people hear the name Madison beer
23:58 What do you want them to think like what do you want to pop into their head?
24:01 Oh gosh, I hate that because I whatever does pop in their head. I hope they can erase and rewrite
24:06 Because it's never anything I would want but I don't know
24:10 I hope I hope maybe like seems like a sweet girl who I like her music and
24:15 Yeah, that's honestly about it. That's all I want in this life is sweet girl like her music. That's it. It's me Paul McCartney
24:22 Yes, and she really wants to
24:24 Yeah, thanks so much your time. It's a pleasure. Thank you
24:27 You
24:29 (upbeat music)
24:32 [BLANK_AUDIO]