Q&A: Emma Ogier Talks Fear and Uncontrollable Changes in Her New Single “Consider Me A Winner”
EMMA OGIER CONSIDERS HERSELF A WINNER — and you should too. Ogier’s newest single from her upcoming debut EP, “Consider Me A Winner,” reminds us that everything and everyone is constantly in motion and ever-changing. While that can be overwhelming for some, Ogier wraps it all up into an upbeat Americana-flavored indie-pop summer tune. “Consider Me A Winner” will have you pulling on your cowboy boots just to get ice cream, with lyrics that make you think while tapping your boot to the beat.
Hailing from Houston, Texas, Ogier hopes to play more shows in the South. With inspirations such as the great Joni Mitchell and fellow southerner MJ Lenderman, Ogier’s songwriting sessions churn out pieces that make you feel. They are feel-good upon first listen and contemplative once the lyrics settle in.
“Consider Me A Winner” will have you feeling like you’re packing your bags at the end of summer, acutely aware of how you will miss your out-of-town friends during the cooler months, yet knowing that when you see each other again it will be all the more sweeter.
Ogier sings, “If I make it through the winter / and I do it all alone / God, consider me a winner.” Knowingly stepping into a harder period of life takes courage and calls for a celebration on the other side, and in her newest track, Ogier captures just that.
Read below to learn more about the recently released single, what Ogier’s songwriting process is like, and what we can expect from her next.
Photo by Reed Schick
LUNA: Congrats on your recent single, “First Base.” That's super fun! The reception has been great. How does it feel to have it out finally and know that everybody likes it?
OGIER: It's a bit hard to fathom everything that's happening because, to me, I'm still going through my normal life and it's like nothing's really changing. But then I'll go check Spotify stats and I'm like, “Holy shit, people are listening to this or seeing this music video,” and … I don't even think about it. It just feels crazy when I think about it, and when I don't, it's just like any other time.
LUNA: Previously, you mentioned that all your singles are working up to the eventual release of an EP. Now that you have the first single out and you're on your way to your second, what emotions are you experiencing as you move closer to the release of your first project?
OGIER: I think I'm mostly just excited, but it's also the closer I get the more I'm realizing [that] having almost two singles out … it's like, “Oh yeah, it's not just mine anymore.” It feels like I'm telling all my secrets to everyone. And no one else thinks of it like that, I guess. Mostly excited. As I said before, I don't find it to be something I'm constantly thinking about, the actual release of the songs.
I didn't even know I had “Consider Me A Winner” coming out on the 27th. I was like, “Oh shit, that's pretty soon.” So I mean, it's just exciting but also really rewarding for me … I don’t know, I think of myself as an artist, and I think I'm talented and stuff, but I never really think of myself as someone who would go out of their way to be like, “Hey, you're really good. This is really, really cool. I like this.” And that happening a lot recently … [is] reaffirming. I'm like, “Oh, people actually do like my music.”
And so going into the EP, it's exciting because I already see people enjoying this and developing a fanbase of people who genuinely like the music and would care who I am and stuff. It's really cool.
LUNA: Yeah. It must be such an interesting process to go through. It's always intriguing to hear about different artists and what that experience is like for them. So what does it look like when you're deciding what singles are going to be released?
OGIER: This is another question I wasn't super sure how to answer because [it’s the] same with [when] I've been asked this about “First Base.” I don't remember there being a day where we were like, “This is the first and this is the second song.” Everyone was like, “Which ones do you want to put out?” And I was like, “These would be good singles.” And then it was sort of like the order I made the list in. But “First Base” is the only one that was done. The rest of the EP tracks were all done together. “First Base” was done before everything else. So I decided, that'll be the first one. And then I guess this was the next one that also worked. I think it's a pretty compelling song, and it means a lot to me. It's easier for me to talk about than even “First Base” because it's very specific, and I know exactly what I'm saying and what it's about.
LUNA: Yeah, I think even sonically it’s a fitting follow-up to what you already released. I'm excited for it to be out. It's telling a little bit of a different story. You talked about how “First Base” was more of a space for you to process the emotions that you were feeling at a certain period in time and “Consider Me A Winner” is more of an imagining of what would happen in a specific situation. Can you talk about the differences in writing that and how the first one was maybe based on real-life experience as opposed to fictional imaginings?
OGIER: This is almost the opposite of that. “First Base” is not a true story. I've talked about how the original version was very much a self-reflection and explained how I'm feeling about this and that. And I think the version of “First Base” that's out is just sort of that idea but a different story. Sort of a more made-up story, but it's still true.
I think my songs would have elements of both … real life and fiction. I mean, I think that's all that songwriting is. It's the way you're perceiving the world but you have to leave some pieces up to interpretation. I couldn't specifically say exactly what the stories are every time. I think it's just captivating a feeling or a period of time and saying, “Oh, this is what that period of time was,” or, “These were those thoughts.” And that's what one song would be.
LUNA: They’re like little time capsules. With the new single, what was your songwriting process? Did you sit down to write it or did it happen naturally?
OGIER: Well, I guess telling you what it was about would sort of help explain the process. So it was about my freshman-year roommate. We became best friends — super close. And she decided she didn't want to study music anymore, so she dropped out after our first semester. This song was me in my first semester being like, “This is how it's all going to be next semester when you're not here: I'm going to be too scared to talk to the boy. I'm going to sit in this room alone and rot, basically just imagining what was happening.”
I think a lot of it was just me processing that. I had no idea what it would look like to live alone in a dorm or live alone literally for the first time. I think I remember not knowing how to say that in a song. And also, I'm not a very confrontational person, so I wasn't going to go to her and be like, “Oh, I'm so sad you're leaving. I'm so scared.” It was more “No, it’s what's happening and it's cool. I'm happy for you. Whatever.” Yeah … I think I needed to process those thoughts somehow. And the way it came out was like, “No, this is me being really scared. And this is what I think is scary about it, and I'm doubtful that I will have a good time.” But also it was just a song about fear.
LUNA: Was that last year or was that last semester?
OGIER: She was gone last semester and was there my first semester.
LUNA: So you lived through it? You made it.
OGIER: I made it. I consider me a winner.
LUNA: You are. With your songwriting process, do you have any routines or rituals?
OGIER: I tend to write alone unless I'm in a co-write, but I don't really have rituals or a routine with songwriting because I don't want to do that. I wouldn't want to force creativity when it's not really there, but sometimes I do. If I'm distracted or I haven't written for a few days or something or played guitar or done something creative, I'll sort of be like, “Okay, I should take the time for that.” But I also wouldn't force myself.
LUNA: That makes sense. Yeah, for sure.
OGIER: Then I just get frustrated and write really not-good stuff.
LUNA: I think most creatives feel that way and understand the importance of discipline while keeping the art authentic. Do you have a favorite line from “Consider Me A Winner”?
OGIER: Yeah, I really like this song, but I said my favorite line in it would probably be the chorus. I really like the chorus of this song: “But all my fictions are showing up / The people in the posters on all my walls are growing up.” That was sort of a play on MJ Lenderman, who has a song and he says something about, “You said you're going to be like our heroes someday / Well, baby, all our heroes now are dead.” And that was sort of a play on that and the idea that everything is constantly changing, everyone and everything is changing and in motion.
LUNA: That line really stuck out to me, as well. It took me a second to process it. Speaking of people on posters, if you could pick to perform a duet with anyone at a headline show, who would you bring out, and what song or songs would you sing with them?
OGIER: I have a dream of… My older brother always plays in my band, and he writes songs. But my little brother is also an insane musician. Like, super good, but he's 15. And I have a dream that one day we will all get to play together. But also, Joni Mitchell would be sick.
LUNA: Yeah, that'd be legendary. Your next show — speaking of shows — is on July 20, at The East Room. Do you have a setlist for that day yet? Do you have a process for how you curate them?
OGIER: If I'm playing a solo show, it's usually five minutes before the show. I'm like, “Guys, what do I play?” But with a show where I have a band, I have to be way more on top of it. So for this one, I sat down or I just sort of took a setlist I've been doing and then took out a couple of the songs and added in some new, very new songs. I'll always do definitely four from the EP. And then a couple of new ones and then something I'm excited about, too.
LUNA: Are you going to be playing any covers?
OGIER: I haven't played covers at shows in a while because right now … I have to promote.
LUNA: You have songs to sing now. That's exciting! Do you have any plans to celebrate on the 27th?
OGIER: Well, on the 27th I'll be in Los Angeles playing a show — I'm opening for Patrick Martin at the Hotel Cafe on the 27th, and then I'll be flying back to Nashville on the 28th, so my roommates and I will have a little shindig.
LUNA: That’ll be fun. What are your next show dates, and what can we expect from you in the future?
OGIER: There will be another single after this and then the EP after “Consider Me A Winner.” Another single and then the EP, and that should come out around October. And then after that there's going to be a couple more singles after. Yeah, I'm just hoping to tour more, play more, and keep doing the thing.
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