An ethereal soundscape: Now That The Light Is Fading

by Elise Schumacher

Maggie Rogers leaves us glassy-eyed and craving more of her “singular” sound in 17 short minutes or less.

There’s something dreamy about a picturesque Alaskan landscape; the clinking of wind-chimes, frosty air and breathtaking glacial plains. These are just a few of the visuals that Maggie Rogers evokes through her 2017 EP Now That The Light Is Fading.

“Who the hell is Maggie Rogers?”, you might be asking. Let’s go back to February this year, when a video surfaced of Pharrell Williams’ masterclass at NYU in which he critiqued the work of budding musicians. You may recall a timid young blonde presenting her single “Alaska,” and you may also remember the look of sheer wonder dripping from Pharrell’s face listening to Rogers’ hair-raising blend of country folk and electronica motifs. These two seemingly opposing genres are married harmoniously throughout the entire EP and create an atmosphere for the listener to revel in, and that isn’t a simple venture for any artist, especially not a 23-year-old from Easton, Maryland.

In an interview with Pitchfork, Rogers describes “[coming] from such a small place and…always really [thinking] that if you make good music, then people will find it.”And that is exactly what people did. With “Alaska” raking in almost 42 million listens on Spotify, and almost 7 million views on YouTube, Maggie Rogers has been well and truly found. But what’s next for this artist with what’s described as Pharrell Williams as a “singular” sound?

In theory, her style is comparable to Mumford and Sons, Haim, Ella Vos, and perhaps even Banks at a stretch. With her ethereal builds and heavy bass similar to these artists, Rogers is able to tell stories with sound and transport the listener to higher atmospheric plane. There is, however, something that sets Maggie Rogers apart from these musicians: a potential to not only create more, but to be more as a creator and as an artist.

Growing up listening to the likes of Erykah Badu and Lauryn Hill, Rogers is well-learned in the realm of soulful, passionate acoustics and stirringly powerful vocals. Her expertise with the harp and the banjo give the strings in her music a certain self-awareness and purpose. After falling in love with the electronic dance scene in France, she began to incorporate these beats into her individual sound. There are more obvious transitional elements such as the aftermath of a breakup and her love for the outdoors that culminate to this crescendo of utterly perplexing tracks that resonate long after the songs fade out. Rogers is able to tell vivid stories through her lines and the careful arrangement of sound that sits on a level playing field with her lyrics.

The opener of the EP, “Colour Song,” melds natural and manmade sound euphoniously and is layered with soothing harmonies that lay down the fundamental foundation for the remainder of the songs. We are then seamlessly guided into “Alaska,” an the embodiment of undeniably lush folktronica, ripe with imagery of an icy pipe dream dusted with snow. “On + Off” and “Dog Years” are full of elegantly and carefully utilised percussion and synthesisers, broken up by ambient sounds of an Alaskan forest in the middle of winter. Rogers even sampled noises from rattlesnakes to achieve more high-end on snares and the sounds of falling trees to accentuate basslines for these tracks. Better closes the EP thoughtfully and hypnotically, with twinkling keys, organic disco vibes and an artful edge, leaving the listener craving for more.

Her potential lies within the significance of stepping out of the shadow of Pharrell Williams and stepping into her own light, and I guess you could say that light is fading. While Williams has paved the path that led Rogers to her overnight sensation, it is integral for her to shake the title of “Pharrell Girl” and become recognised for her raw talent and potential to thrive within such a saturated industry. Her window of opportunity flew open at the beginning of this year and we are yet to see Rogers maintain the momentum that she has steadily built and satiate the appetite of her mystified fans.