Magana – aka Jeni Magaña – creates haunted Alternative Pop. Having taken the long road from Bakersfield, CA to Berklee College, MA to Brooklyn, NY, her musical journey included a diverse array of experiences (such as commercial jingles and performing with Dropkick Murphys) before she arrived on Audio Antihero for her ‘Golden Tongue‘ debut. Since then she toured the world with Mitski (from Jimmy Kimmel to Glastonbury) and Lady Lamb, released music through labels in multiple continents, relocated to Los Angeles, and formed the acclaimed pop duo pen pin with Emily Moore.

Your press materials say that Teeth was released on March 25^th to coincide with the Worm Moon’s peak illumination. What is the Worm Moon, and how does it relate to the music on Teeth? 

All full moons have nicknames. The worm moon is maybe named after the worms that make their way above ground once everything thaws out for spring. It’s a time of spring, rejuvenation, and growth. That’s what Teeth is about too! 

Your music falls into some interesting categories, including Witchy Rock, Acid Folk, and Krautrock. What does each of these categories mean to you, and how do they complement each other? I’m particularly curious about how Krautrock fits into the equation. 

What they all have in common is the experimental element. It’s cosmic and sort of mystical more than psychedelic. It’s still an indie pop record, but that doesn’t really describe the experience of the music. We were looking for something that would help someone understand what the record sounds like and these seemed like more helpful terms. 

I read that Teeth grew out of your meditations and synth experiments. Can you talk about that a little bit—and how the two may have informed each other?

Teeth was a meeting of synth experiments without lyrics and songs that needed fresh instrumentation. I was putting wild soundscapey synths on everything at the time. Everything was sort of this wall of sound that I had to sort through and tease out what needed to stay and go. A sort of sonic sculpting. 

You’ve spent the last few years as the road bassist for Mitski. How has that experience informed your approach to making music? 

Inspiration is waiting to be found in every source. It’s easy to get inspiration from the super-talented people that I’m on stage with every night. But it’s more than that, also. I went to an art museum with a few of my bandmates and got inspiration from that as well. I take some solo walks and get inspiration from that. 

You also work with Emily Moore as part of the pen pin pop duo. How is working in a duo different from working on your own material as a solo artist? 

Working with Emily is more like having a conversation with someone. My solo material is more like journaling. With Emily, there’s a sort of loose organization to our creative process. One of us comes up with an idea, and then the other person flushes it out a little more. We pass ideas back and forth, which morphs the original idea into the final product. My solo work doesn’t have those checks and balances. I feel a bit more like a mad scientist that eventually emerges from the isolation of my lab in order to see if my discovery is actually new.

How is Teeth different from some of your earlier work?

The approach is the main divider between “Teeth” and my previous catalog. “Golden Tongue” was about writing songs on guitar, and then arranging everything around those lines. “Morning Person” was a development on that theme. I wrote songs on guitar and then had a band help me arrange a more fleshed out arrangement. Teeth abandoned those ideas. Songs were written on a bass riff, or a synth line. I played most of the instruments and arranged everything myself. Because of that approach, the sound on this record is more like a left turn than moving another step forward in a straight line. You can still see that it’s part of the same path, but there’s just a bend in the trail that is a little unexpected. 

Along similar lines, how do you see yourself as having grown as an artist from one project to the next over the past few years?

A really clear example of growth is the instrumentation. I have used each record as a chance to learn more about something. The first record was electric guitar. The second was band arrangements and woodwind lines. This one is synth, string arrangements and drum arrangements. It’s easier for me to learn something when I have a goal to apply the knowledge. 

You recorded the album during lockdown in the pandemic, but it just came out on March 25^th. What’s it like for you to listen back to it now that some time has passed since you recorded the music?

It’s actually really nice! There are definitely a couple things that I would change if it were now, but mostly it’s such a different time and I’ve had so much space from it that I’m able to listen to it as if a stranger made it. Without the associations I had with the process of making it or putting it out, it turns out I like it a lot! In some ways, a stranger did make it. I was a different person in 2020 than I am now. 

Teeth is being released through Audio Antihero Records and your own Colored Pencils imprint. How does the relationship between the two work? Who does what?

Let me be totally clear, Jamie does most of the work and they deserve all of the credit. They did everything from press and outreach to keeping me organized and helping me sort out my name that was misspelled on Tidal. Also, they offer me moral support constantly. 

What are you working on now?

I’m working on some more instrumentals that will supplement my “Dreams” EP to make it a more immersive album experience. 

Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions! 

My pleasure!