Interview: Going Back To the Future with Rare DM

Erin Hoagg discusses her creative process creating futuristic synth-pop under the moniker Rare DM, weighing in on manifestation, Charli XCX’s “Vroom Vroom,” and the age-old question of whether money buys happiness along the way.

Written by C.S. Harper

Photo courtesy of Lissyelle Laricchia

Calling all bimbos, himbos, and thembos: Rare DM is your new obsession. After dropping out of fashion school, renaissance woman Erin Hoagg has masterminded this genre-bending musical project since 2017. Beginning her music journey as a percussion student in Michigan, Hoagg has since grown into a pioneering figure in the Brooklyn electronic music scene. Ahead of her SXSW performance, Afterglow sat with her to learn more about her music style, artistic evolution, and upcoming plans.

Afterglow: Let’s talk about your journey to music. What led you to drop out of fashion school and explore music as a creative avenue instead?

Erin: Well, I went to FIT (Fashion Institute of Technology), which was kind of my way to get to New York. And long story short, I got involved in a band during that time, and I was really into it and excited. And I definitely found myself having trouble doing my best at both at the same time. So I was kind of like, I'm not into the accessories program, because accessories design was like, you've got to have it on paper, and you need to know what you want. I did not like the creative process. Because of that, it was a pretty easy decision to be like, accessories design is clearly not for me. So there you go, you drop out, you try to focus on it, you quit the band, just start doing your own thing.

You mentioned this creative process of just finding what you want to create instead of knowing exactly what you want. Do you think this translates to your music?

Erin: Absolutely, because every once in a while, I will have a vocal melody, and I'll be like, “There we go. That's catchy.” And so you sing it a bunch, and you're like riding your bike, and you're thinking about it. But most of the time, what ends up happening is I'll be in my studio, I'm jamming, I'm recording the whole session, you end up with 15 minutes of audio because you lost track of time. And then you're listening back, and you find magic moments. And you cut it up, and then you play around with it. So it's kind of like you're playing Tetris with the pieces that you've written. So it's just about magic moments and then curation of the moments.

Your Spotify biography unexpectedly uses the phrases “dungeon master and “Billie Holiday” in the same text to describe your music. What was the inspiration for this?

Erin: The Billie Holiday part comes from the fact that I did a lot of swing dancing in high school. So I got really into Billie Holiday, and I kind of learned how to sing a lot of her songs a capella. And that definitely affects the singing style of how my vocals sound. As for the dungeon master side of things, I am just heavily influenced by a lot of EBM and German electronica, like 1980s bands like Front 242. So the electronic sounds that I'm attracted to are usually darker. And the music that I grew up listening to has probably affected the way I write lyrics. It's like you are what you eat. So my music is definitely slightly affected by how much I listened to Interpol’s Turn On the Bright Lights and The Strokes’ Is This It? from when I was 11 to now. I am not trying to emulate them, but I'm like, “Oh, you know what, I probably sound monotone because of how much Interpol I listen to.”

Photo courtesy of Lissyelle Laricchia

Your debut album, Vanta Black, is a little bit softer and more lo-fi compared to your latest singles, which seem darker. What spurred that change?

Erin: It's a difference in setup. So 2019 was when that album came out, but that album was actually written in like 2017, 2018, mostly. I had a way more simple setup. I had a Scarlett that had two inputs, so I would have to switch the instruments I was writing on. And then the style of songwriting was just less sophisticated. I had a different sound, partly based on just being a noob. I didn't know how to execute the type of music I wanted to do yet. So it ends up just being a stream-of-consciousness, kind of emotional vomit thing.

It’s amazing how albums show your evolution as an artist, right?
Erin: Yeah, absolutely. I was younger and more innocent then. Thankfully for me, though, it's not like I struck gold on my first album, because what are you supposed to do after that? Like nothing compares to Interpol's Turn On the Bright Lights. Everything they did since is just not as good. I'm glad I didn't have that problem, like the first album is the most magical thing you've ever done.

What does your songwriting process look like now?

Erin: I have a way better sense of humor with my music now. I've got a lot of songs that are a lot cheekier, so to speak. I am still true to myself, my desires, and dreams and whatnot, but I definitely can be a little funny with my lyrics in a way that I didn't used to be. And I really enjoy writing some fantasy-based things, as well as reality. To me, “send nudes” is a little cheeky. I think it's fun to say, “I can send my nudes to someone else.” Like, I don't even send actual nudes. And “Rolex” is more of the fantasy sense of humor side of me. I think it’s almost like if I was gonna have a rap song, that's my rap song. It's also a manifestation song, if you want to think that, because it's like that energy that you're supposed to have: “Seven digits in my paychecks / I'm already famous / I'm worth a little bit extra.” I'm putting that energy out there that I'm successful, established, and have mad money.

“Rolex” feels like a fever dream in the best way possible. What was the process of creating this song like?

Erin: Well, it started with a really solid bassline. I was really stoked on the production of that song first. To me, “Rolex” is kind of like my “Vroom Vroom.” You know, the Charli XCX song? “Rolex” is like my “Vroom Vroom” because the song’s just silly, and kind of powerful, it's just like the right amount of sexy and funny. I actually think this is how it started: I have a fake Versace jacket. “Don't need an Audi / To hang out with me and my fake Versace.” Audi, Versace; they kind of rhyme. “Don't need a Rolex to get into my contacts.” They're fun rhymes. I also think it's funny to have like a bunch of different terms for "You don't need a Rolex to get into my contacts, DMs, Rolodex.” I kind of went down the line of technology there. Nobody uses a Rolodex now, but it’s funny. And then before Rolodex, there’s contacts, and now there's DMs. I actually also like playing with timelines as far as old-fashioned sayings compared to new ones, like “Almost a Year” has “They're calling you a hussy.” Who the f-ck has ever called their friend or their ex a hussy?

I don’t even know what that means!

Erin: It's the old-fashioned term for a whore or a slut. And then “I keep up with the Joneses,” like “Keeping Up With The Kardashians” got that from keeping up with the Joneses, which became a saying for trying to go and keep up with your neighbors. So “I keep up with the Joneses” is just a really f-cking funny way to have some contrast to the whole materialism of the modern world. And also, it's a personal self-drag with “But it doesn't hurt / So buy me something fancy.” I'm not gonna marry for money. But if the person you love has money, even better, why not have both? So that's a theme that I like exploring, the fact that a lot of people think that money equals happiness. And I would argue it doesn't, but it doesn't hurt!

Image courtesy of Matt Allen

You mentioned your music is a little funny and a little sexy, and I noticed that in your aesthetic too. What was the process of creating your cover art like?

Erin: Lissyelle Laricchia (IG: @lissyellelaricchia), my oldest friend in New York, is an amazing photographer that has done all of my cover art. For “send nudes,” that was my coping mechanism for the pandemic. New York was really scary and dystopian at that time, and I lived alone. And I just tried to come up with some way to distract myself or keep myself busy. I started doing live jams on TikTok or Instagram Live a bunch, and “send nudes” was a jam originally that I did the first week of quarantine. And then after I was like, “Oh, I got a song here,” then I was like, “You know what, I've always wanted to do a bike video.” So I borrowed a friend’s GoPro, and I would ride it out to Times Square, because I knew it would look cool over there, but I would never get off my bike until I got back to my house because everything clearly was going to kill you. New York, during that time, it was like you could touch a subway pole and you're gonna die. But to bring it back to the photos, it's a bike video, so you need a cool photo to go with it. So I brought my bike into my friend's studio, and she just kind of did some photoshop magic with me and my bike in front of Times Square. And then “Rolex,” which was obviously taken from the video with the red house behind. The house was actually lit up with all those red lights, so that wasn't photoshopped. And then she took a picture of me that was fisheye, and then she did her Photoshop magic on the skirt to make it look really dramatic and cool.

What does the future look like for Rare DM?

Erin: After SXSW, I’m playing Verboden, which is a Vancouver festival. And then I'm playing Cold Waves X, which is a darkwave, industrial etc. festival in Chicago. I'm really excited for both of those. That's my favorite type of music, so hopefully I'll make some new friends and more people will discover my music. But I think what’s coming up for my music in the near future is that I'm obviously going to release some more singles and videos, but I would like to ideally do one or two on my own, and hopefully have some label support for the future. I'm shooting high, I want a dream label here. I really want to work with somebody who believes in my project, understands me, and wants to help me make those bigger dreams come true, because I can only hurt my own pockets for so long.

You can follow Rare DM on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok @rare_dm_. Check out her music on Spotify and Bandcamp.

This interview has been minimally edited for clarity and length.