Maggie Rogers opens up about David Byrne’s cameo in her video ‘That’s Where I Am’

Maggie Rogers has opened up about David Byrne’s collaboration on her video for ‘That’s Where I Am’, in a new interview with NME.

For this week’s Big Read, Rogers opened up about Byrne’s cameo and how it came about. The musician recalled how she “cold emailed” Byrne to see if he would be up for collaborating on the work and was surprised when she got a response.

“I cold emailed him,” Rogers explained. “We’d never met. I’m a massive fan. And ‘Strange Overtones’ was a song in the pandemic that I just deeply connected to and played over and over and over again. So he feels a part of this record in my brain because I was so connected to that song.”

She said Byrne was immediately up for the invitation. “[He] was just like, ‘Yeah, I’m getting my haircut downtown tomorrow. Where? What time?’. The timing – and the stars, it seems – aligned for Rogers. “He was like, ‘Yeah great. I’ll ride my bike over. I think I can hang for like 20 minutes’.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Rogers said she used a similar “cold emailing” technique with Florence Welch and the two ended up not only collaborating, but becoming friends.

Rogers revealed how, last summer, recording time overlapped for their respective albums at Electric Lady Studio in New York, so they traded their talents. Rogers’ vocals feature on ‘Girls Against God’ and ‘Dream Girl Evil’ from Welch’s new album ‘Dance Fever’, who offered vocals and tambourine on Rogers’ track ‘Shatter’ in return.

“It’s a super small studio, and we know each other. So we’d have a coffee, go in, I’d see her after work, it was just really natural,” Rogers explained.

“I played her ‘Shatter’, and she loved it. And then I was like, ‘Dude, if you hear anything for it, or if you want to be a part of it, like, I love you’.” Shortly after Welch left the studio, she dreamed up an idea and asked if she could return to record it immediately. “She’s one of a kind,” Rogers adds.

Reviewing Rogers’ latest album, NME said: “In truth, though, that’s just like New York – it puts you through the wringer and then unceremoniously spits you out to pick up the pieces. Unlike life in the city, Rogers’ second album is much easier and more desirable to put yourself through the process again and again; a mostly crucial and enriching next step.”