Maddie Regent – Girl of Your Dreams

By starrymag | February 18, 2024

By: Alejandra Gil M.

 

 

Q) How would you describe your sound?

 

A) I would say it’s a mix of alt-pop and singer-songwriter – where I like my lyrics and music to tell different sides of the same story.

 

Q) Who are some of your musical influences?

 

A) Marina (formerly Marina and the Diamonds) was one of the first pop artists I discovered that I felt perfectly executed the “drama” that is confessional pop music. Her music is theatrical- from the lyrics to her vocal performance- and she’s made me want to experiment with that in my own work.

Taylor [Swift] (obviously) and Lana Del Rey (my queen) are also of course female artists I will forever look up to. Making the rules as they go and being entirely authentic along the way is what I love and remind myself when I’m off in my own world wondering if what I want to say is worth sharing. It is.

 

Q) Your EP Girl Of your Dreams is out now. What is your songwriting process? Do you need music before you can come up with the lyrics?

 

A) For this EP I worked with my boyfriend, artist and producer Cade Hoppe. A normal session would start with us creating a production vibe and then writing to it. Often as we’re listening to whatever melody or production, we’re forming we’ll talk about what it makes us feel and what comes up. We’ve written a ton of songs with me just venting about stuff and him writing down lyric ideas from that. I feel very lucky to work with someone who knows me so well because I’m not sure I could get to the places I can get in these sessions with anyone else.

 

Q) The EP includes songs like “Buy Her a Drink,” “Hiding Place,” “Butterflies” and a favorite of mine “Prettiest Please.” Which song is a personal favorite for you and what makes it so significant?

 

A) I actually love “Prettiest Please” a lot and feel it’s so underrated so thank you for highlighting it!! I think that one is one of my favorite productions on the EP, we really went all out with the dark vibe to go along with the story. It was about a relationship that was bad for me, and the shame I felt about how I let myself be treated. It’s the first time I’ve shared that story, so it’ll always have a special place in my heart because of that.

“SIDE FX” is another favorite because it set the tone for the EP, being one of the first songs Cade and I made together, and the process of writing it was a cathartic one. I would jump around screaming the lyrics in the studio because I loved it so much and was so excited for what we could make together.

 

Q) A focus single for Girl Of Your Dreams was “Hiding Place.” Please tell us the story behind it.

 

A) “Hiding Place” is about that one person you can’t hide from because of your history and how embedded your lives are (physically, emotionally or both). It’s really hard to leave a relationship like that, no matter how toxic, because every path seems to lead to them. It felt like a good way to sum up the EP as a whole which is that: navigating relationships as a young woman is infinitely harder when you can’t even define the relationship you have with yourself. It’s all about trial and error and a lot of heart break and learning from it all.

I made the song with Cade, who literally finished writing the chorus on the walk back from the studio to my apartment. We have a voice memo of us singing the chorus in the elevator and then we ran back the next day to get it down on the track. It was a song where everything just came together so easily and seemed like a no brainer. It’s infectious and catchy and although it’s about a tough situation it makes you want to dance, and those are some of my favorite songs.

 

Q) Was there a song that was more emotional for you to record or maybe challenging for you in some way?

 

A) “Ruining” is an emotional song for me, in a good way though. This was hard to record because I wanted to get everything right, so it was a lot of takes and agonizing over small details that made it tough to finish. But I’m so proud of what we did with it. It was all worth it.

 

Q) Girl Of your Dreams, as you have previously mentioned, takes on the cycle of toxic relationships — both with others and ourselves. What do you hope people take away from it?

 

A) That, as cheesy as it is, loving yourself first is the key to loving someone else.

 

Q) A few music videos were also previously released for “EGO,” “Side FX,” “Let it Go” and “Salt.” How involved were you in developing the art behind them?

 

A) My videos have the (decidedly) charming DIY quality you get when a former film student turned pop artist has a camera and a dream. They are fun projects I take on mostly myself (with the help from some friends and boyfriend) and I love them. I filmed “Let it Go” with a green sheet in my bedroom and then edited it for three days nonstop. Still one of my proudest creations. LOL

 

Q) Hailing from Toronto and now based in New York City, you first started making music at the age of twelve. You first broke out in 2021 with your impressive debut EP, MISS REGENT, which was produced by Grammy-nominated songwriting and production trio, LIONCHLD (Britney Spears, Bebe Rexha, Calvin Harris). Your song “EGO” became an instant fan-favorite with multiple viral TikTok moments. What does it mean to get more & more recognition of your music?

 

A) It feels really nice, and I love being able to connect with more people who relate to the songs I make. That’s really the goal.

 

Q) Who would you most like to collaborate with on a song in the future?

 

A) DUA LIPA, hands down. I love her.

 

Q) What album/group are you currently listening to and why do you like it?

 

A) Norman Fucking Rockwell by Lana Del Rey is on repeat lately. What a masterpiece of an album.  I love the lyrics, the vibe, the vocals and the visuals. She’s just a lyrical and storytelling genius. Her and Jack Antonoff create the most addicting and effortless productions that I find myself referencing a lot as I’m working on new music.

Lana is a confident songwriter, which is what I struggle with. She inspires me in that way and I’m really excited to share the new stuff I’ve been working on.

 

Q) You are a part of social media. Why is that such an important way for you to connect with your fans?

 

A) It’s the easiest way to connect with people from all over the world. No matter where you are, we all have these emotions we struggle to describe and to be able to connect with someone over that is the most validating thing ever.

 

Q) What would you like to say to fans and supporters of you and your music?

 

A) Thank you so much. I really appreciate the messages more than you know. As an artist who is just starting out, having someone let you know what your song means to them is the best gift. I love ya <3