Several days ago, I was scrolling through reddit’s front page when I spotted a link with a title something along the lines of “Pharrell’s reaction to this girls song is so genuine. It’s beautiful.” Now, being a fan of Pharrell, I had to see what this was about.
What I found was a girl named Maggie Rogers, not much younger than myself, speaking of her rural background in Maryland and musical upbringing (she’s originally/still is a banjo player) which was dramatically shifted when she became a student at NYU. As the song began to play, it was clear the track was unfinished but the soul and warmth of the song still rung out. Pharrell began to get emotional and in turn, from watching him, I did too.
The beautiful thing about the internet is that just 48 hours after watching Rogers show Pharrell this unfinished masterpiece, we have a completed version in our possession. The track, titled “Alaska”, morphs Rogers’ many influences into a cohesive, semi-electronic arrangement of sounds, vocals and instruments. By the chorus, you might find yourself a bit teary eyed, begging for more music from the young singer/songwriter.
It’s not often you get to discover someone this soon into their journey to becoming a full fledged musical artist and I’m glad I’ll be able to watch Maggie Rogers whole trip from the beginning.
