An Interview with Madisyn Gifford | Cut It Out Magazine

In this interview, I had a chance to chat with 20-year-old singer-songwriter Madisyn Gifford about her second single Voulez-Vous

20-year-old singer-songwriter Madisyn Gifford has released her highly anticipated second single “Voulez Vous”. With hundreds of long-time and new fans raving about the message behind the single and Madisyn’s stunning vocals, it’s no surprise that in just over a week the accompanying music video has garnered almost 200,000 views.

She says this about the music video:

“The ‘Voulez-Vous’ music video plays off of the message of the song and is all about female empowerment. It starts out with a woman in a lake peacefully singing her own song and then takes a dark turn as a man comes along and steals it from her. At first, she is hurt but just like in the song, by the end of the video she ends up taking the power back. It was so much fun to make and I absolutely love the message that it portrays!”

Read all about the single and video, and learn more about the artist herself in our latest interview!

HI MADISYN! IT’S SUCH A PLEASURE CHATTING WITH YOU! HOW HAS LIFE BEEN TREATING YOU RECENTLY?

Thank you! Such a pleasure chatting with you as well! And it’s been good! Obviously life has been strange for everyone these days but I’m just trying to roll with the punches!

I CANNOT TELL YOU HOW MANY TIMES I’VE LISTENED TO “VOULEZ VOUS”, IT’S DEFINITELY AN EAR CATCHER! COULD YOU RUN ME THROUGH THE PROCESS OF CREATING THIS TRACK? WHAT INSPIRED IT? HOW LONG DID IT TAKE TO CREATE?

Oh my goodness that means so much, thank you!! This song was such a fun one to make for my producer and co writer Colin Janz and I. It was our first time ever dipping our toes into the pop writing world together and we just wanted to make something super fun and empowering! It was inspired by a situation I was in at the time and I think a situation I’ve seen a lot of my peers be in as well in those moments before taking back your independence and realizing your own worth! The writing of the song took about an hour and then after that the production etc. took a couple of months!

WHAT I LIKED SO MUCH ABOUT THE MUSIC VIDEO WAS HOW DECEPTIVE IT WAS. AT FIRST APPEARING TO BE A CALMING LAKESIDE VISUALIZER, THE VIDEO EVOLVED INTO A DISCUSSION OF FEMALE EMPOWERMENT. HOW DID THIS STORYLINE COME TO BE? 

Thank you I’m so glad you liked it! The idea and overall aesthetic of the video was all thanks to the very talented director Hannah Dougherty. I told her what the song was about and she came up with the amazing video concept from there. I couldn’t be more happy with how it turned out.

HOW WAS THE WEATHER? I HOPE THE LAKE WASN’T TOO COLD WHEN SHOOTING!

It was actually pretty chilly that day but it’s ok I toughed it out and we had someone waiting with a robe the moment I got out of the water! The mosquitoes that day were awful though! If you look close in the last frame of the video you can see a huge bite on my forehead ahah.

THE VIBE OF “VOULEZ VOUS” COMPLETELY DEPARTS FROM THE SUNSHINE POP SOUND OF YOUR DEBUT SINGLE “WITHOUT YOU”. IS THE ELECTROPOP STYLE OF YOUR LATEST SINGLE WHAT WE SHOULD EXPECT FROM YOUR FUTURE RELEASES?

For the entirety of the EP I’m releasing this year we stuck with more of an indie pop vibe on all the songs other than “Voulez Vous” but Colin and I have definitely been moving more in the electro pop field recently which is so fun!

I’VE BEEN LOVING THE OUTFITS YOU’VE POSTED ON INSTAGRAM! HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR STYLE? IS THERE SOMEONE IN PARTICULAR WHO INSPIRES YOU? 

Thank you so much that means a lot! And I think I would describe my style as more eclectic than anything because I like to pull pieces from all different eras and aesthetics. I mostly wear vintage clothing though. As for my style inspirations I mostly find ideas from my favourite old movies like Practical Magic and Dazed and Confused or TV shows from my childhood such as Gilmore Girls or Charmed! I love the 90s and 70s!

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING ABOUT CREATING MUSIC? IS IT WRITING THE SONG ITSELF, SEEING YOUR AUDIENCE’S REACTIONS, OR IS THERE ANOTHER ELEMENT?

Good question! My favourite part about creating music is most definitely the songwriting aspect! I have always loved reading and writing and expressing myself in general so having the opportunity to put my feelings into words and share them in songs is so lovely. It helps me deal with any situations I may be going through in my life and also makes me feel so seen!