An Interview With Singer/Songwriter/Producer MEGAN VICE On Her Latest EP, Working With Michelle Obama And Much More!

Megan Vice’s “Spread the News” EP will be released soon!

The glam-meets-grit singer/songwriter/producer is following up her 2015 single “Ghost” with new music that delicately balances her signature beat-heavy sound with slick elements of soul and trop-pop.

Born and raised in New York, Megan spent her formative years imitating her favorite vocalists, from Michael Jackson and Prince to Whitney Houston and Paul McCartney. Her vast array of influences are evident on Spread the News, but in a way that is catchy, fresh, and completely unexpected.

Learn more about Megan in the following All Access interview:

Thanks for your time! How’s 2016 treating you so far? How’s your summer been going? What were some of the highlights of 2015 for you and your music?

So far 2016 has been pretty good to me, just moved to a new apartment and I’m gearing up for the release of Spread The News  my new EP project, so all exciting stuff… As for summer, I’ve currently got 72 bruises on my legs which means it’s officially started and I’m definitely doing it right. Some 2015 highlights: shooting the “All of the Time” music video with my ladies Coco + Breezy, performing with The Knocks at a sold out Webster Hall – that one’s for the bucket list! I’ve attended so many shows at that venue growing up over the years, so getting to perform there, nevertheless for a sold out crowd, was a surreal experience for me. 2015 was tight!

Growing up, did you always want to be a musician? Can you recall your earliest musical memory?

Yeah I’ve always known, there was never a doubt. Hmmm, my earliest musical memory? I think it was with this personalized “Megan” cassette tape my mom bought for me when I was a baby where they sing a bunch of silly songs with your name in it – she probably still has it, it’s ridiculous.

How do you think living in Brooklyn and that scene has inspired your music and your really your sound?

Well I’ve only recently moved to Brooklyn but I’ve been working and partying here forever. I love it because it’s a really artistically expressive place. Everyone is doing something cool and there’s always someone who wants to hang and create, whether it’s photos or music, or helping paint a mural or whatever – it’s just a colorful collection of different people and styles and I feel very connected to all the things that I love here.

This July, you will release your EP, “Spread The News.” Can you talk about your sound on this collection? How do you think you’ve grown as a musician through the years? 

I think my sound on this collection has really evolved from my first release, taken a gutsier turn if you will… I feel like I shed old skin and unveil a fresh layer of myself with every new project, and I think that’s evident when you listen to/view my work. I’ve grown in many ways as an artist over the years. I’ve learned a lot about the business side of all this that I’d never known about. Important stuff that has made me smarter in how I approach things. I was very naive starting out. I was also in this weird limbo phase at one point not making any music (this was before my first EP, Step On The Scene) because I had a lot of people in my ear telling me what kind of sound I should/should not have, what would sell, what was “marketable. ” I was also really frustrated with the lack of production in the style I knew I truly wanted. I’d rather put nothing out than stuff that isn’t me, so for a while that’s what I did… Nothing. In search of the right producer to collaborate with and bring the visions I had in my head to life. It wasn’t until the universe blessed me with Young Science and I stopped giving a fuck about people’s opinions and started making whatever I wanted to make, what I personally wanted to listen to, despite what my shitty ex-boyfriend felt was “real art” and “pop garbage” that I truly came into my own.

Where do you get the inspiration for your music? How do you go about writing a song?

For my own music I usually pull inspiration from my love life, or ridiculous scenarios surrounding love in general, or things I am going through that are rough for me that I try to make light of in a song because it helps me cope. I also sometimes draw inspiration from funny/strange places like a line from a movie, or an SNL skit. The other day Robert (from homies French Horn Rebellion) and I were in the studio writing a topline for European producer Lexer, the production made us feel like we should be lounging on a white canopy bed in the middle of the beach in Ibiza, real euro-trash socialites with lots of expensive champagne and daddy’s credit card. So we just kept building on that idea, what we would see if we were there, what type of clothes the people would be wearing, what they would be saying to each other… So that evolved into us speaking to each other in obnoxious British accents for a while like “Tell me Robert, do you like LUXURY?!”… just being total idiots. So we wrote a song about that and it was funny. Sometimes songs aren’t that serious and it’s just a big fat joke, which I enjoy… Not everything needs to be some intense life or death situation or political statement.

Can you talk about remixing Michelle Obama’s girl anthem, “This Is For My Girls”? How did that all come together?

I am a proud feminist and wholeheartedly stand behind this cause. I wanted to be a part of something so wonderful for women all across the globe and lend my feelings through sound. Education is so important, if not the most important, and we should all have easy access to it so being able to throw in my own spin for a remix [with producer and collaborator RedTop} on such a powerful song/message was a really special opportunity.

Who are some of your favorite artists? Who would you love to work with one day?

I just saw Breakbot here in NYC a couple weeks ago for the last show on his U.S. tour and oh my god, he’s already been one of my favorite artists for a long time now but that was seriously one of the best live performances I’ve ever seen. For real, top 3 live acts I’ve ever witnessed! It would be an honor to collaborate  with him one day. As for others, Drake, Mayer Hawthorne, FKJ, Dabeull, Disclosure, MNEK, Mark Ronson, Craig David, Sam Sparro, Miguel, The Weeknd, honestly there are SO many I could go on forever but I’ll stop there.

From all the pictures that I’ve seen of you online, it’s clear that you have a distinct style. Can you talk about your fashion sense? What are you most comfortable wearing? 

I’m very experimental when it comes to fashion. I love sequins and patterns and textures and color… I love it all. I’ve always enjoyed being able to constantly reinvent myself through the clothing I put on my body. Every day is a new day and a new look.

I think everyone should own a good leather jacket/denim jacket & denim vest, those are staple pieces for me that will never go out of style and that everyone looks good in. When in doubt throw on a leather jacket! I also have a serious obsession with sequin jackets and high-waisted pants which definitely stemmed from my love for Michael Jackson & Prince. I probably own like 25 sequin jackets, it’s insane… And the collection will continue to grow until I die.

As for what I’m most comfortable in, I think probably high-waisted pants/jeans and/or crop tops with leather jackets or sequin jackets. I also love dresses in the spring/summer months. Most of my clothes are a mix of vintage and American Apparel.

At the end of the day, what do you hope is the message for your music? What do you hope listeners take away from your songs?

I hope that the message of my music is to be comfortable being yourself, owning all the absurd, beautiful, silly, not so flattering, haunting sides of your personality and understanding that at the end of the day we’re only human and we’re here to enjoy ourselves, we’re here for pleasure… So I hope listeners take away exactly that, lots and lots of pleasure.