Singer-Songwriter morgxn Finds Their ‘MERIDIAN’ with New, Extended Album

With the release of his new album, MERIDIAN, Nashville-born-and-based artist Morgan Karr—known by the stage name morgxn—is looking ahead at 2022 with optimism.

“As a measure of a year, this one feels very hopeful,” morgxn says. “A new, full project, plus these secret collaborations on the horizon, compared to say May 2020, this is shaping up to be something exciting and unknown.”

The indie pop singer-songwriter—who uses he, they, and xe pronouns—first came onto the music scene after contributing their vocals to two Tiësto tracks in 2015, “Fighting For” and “Change Your World.” He carried on to release his first album, vital, in 2018, and despite the pandemic, he still managed to deliver two EPs in 2021, MERIDIAN : vol 1 and vol 2, which he combined for the 2022 MERIDIAN album, along with a previously unreleased track, “IF I KNEW YOU IN A PAST LIFE,” and new, reimagined versions of his hit song, “WONDER.”

“I always envisioned the full project, but broke it up into two EPs for both spiritual and practical reasons,” morgxn says. “I kept the songs in order of their release, so I do feel like it tells the story of my pandemic journey, through wonder to loss to piecing it back together. It felt good making the music and has felt Herculean to release it at times, but I’m currently glad I kept going. 

Xe says MERIDIAN is more about the journey than the destination, embracing the “mystery,” what lies beyond our eyesight. Though, they note there was still a feeling of uncertainty surrounding the future as they wrote vol 1, reeling from a “grueling” tour cycle, carrying forward with vol 2 traversing a space of “letting broken relationships be broken” and finding a way back into their heart, to stop second guessing themself and facing up to the ambiguous future ahead.

Referencing the name specifically, morgxn says MERIDIAN means many things, but he was most interested in the application it has in acupuncture, finding these points in the body and letting the energy flow freely between them.

“I think ‘being lost’ implies that you have once ‘been found,’ so losing myself (to quote myself) implies that there is some kind of equilibrium to find,” xe says. “Life doesn’t excite in perfect order; life requires chaos and upheaval to be LIFE. Besides it being the journey these songs took, it’s all just how I felt about this time—letting things die so that I could breathe new life again.”

While morgxn has clearly embraced their own unique style and artistry, they say they don’t aim to achieve a certain “sound,” referencing a songwriting class they took with Robin Pecknold from Fleet Foxes:

“He used the term ‘fissure’ to describe when a song gives you this feeling,” morgxn says. “I think I’m always searching for fissure. I have collaborated globally while sitting in my tiny room during the pandemic. That definitely changed something for me, but ultimately when I started the project morgxn, it was built around the idea that X is always an idea in motion. If I’m not changing and evolving and searching for fissure, I’m not living.”

They are also making music at a time where embracing their queerness outwardly isn’t only acceptable but prevalent, though they note there is still a long way to go in terms of representation, with LGBTQ folks in art and music facing abundant roadblocks, even withing our own community.

“I often feel left out by the mainstream queer community—and it is very mainstream—but I also believe in continuing to stand my ground and what feels vital to me. I never shy away from pronouns or submissive/dominant language—never have, never will.”

Though, at the end of the day, he stresses that though he is queer, he also just makes music, and it doesn’t have to always have anything extra attached to it.

“Making ‘queer music’ is a term I don’t understand,” they say. “Isn’t all music a little queer? To be or not to be … “

Revisiting the road ahead, morgxn is hitting the road with Patrick Droney for a brand-new tour. When asked if, given the last two years of pandemic strife, he thinks the experience of venturing out and connecting with fans will be cathartic, morgxn repeats the question back:

“Your question has the answer in it: ‘Given the pandemic state of things, it will be cathartic to get back out and about to perform live and see fans in person.’ This is the truth of what this moment feels like. It feels essential and raw and triggering and highly emotional and important and fun and real, and I am so grateful to be touring at the time of this great reopening.”

While they couldn’t reveal more about some of their upcoming features, morgxn did reveal that they’ve written a new album and are looking forward to bringing it to life. Though, music isn’t the only thing on morgxn’s plate. Xe recently started WHAT IS VITAL, a collaborative project with xyr longtime friend, Annie Middleton, and brother, Price Karr. The fund is fiscally sponsored and distributes money to artists who are making work that is vital to them. 

“It’s still in the early phases, but we’ve been able to support five different artists in the pursuit of their art,” morgxn says. “I hope to keep building the fund and sharing more money with artists, because making your arts—however that manifests for you—is vital to me.”

For new listeners checking out morgxn’s music and MERIDIAN for the first time, he extends a final sentiment as he, and all of us collectively, move forward into a new chapter:

“I hope they get a portrait of an artist in motion, and I hope they find some comfort in their own meridian.”

For more from morgxn, find them on Instagram and Facebook @morgxnofficial, and learn more about the WHAT IS VITAL project at whatisvitalproject.com.   

Photos Courtesy of  Emma Mead and Nolan Knight