Margarita Helene is a singer/ songwriter from Hertfordshire. She taught herself guitar and piano at around 15 years old and has been writing songs ever since. Her music focuses on struggles with mental health, relationships and being introverted in an extroverted world. Margarita currently gigs around London wherever possible. She is compared to artists such as Kate Nash and Lily Allen and her music focuses on struggles with mental health and relationships.  

Thanks for talking to ReVamp, growing up, who inspired you to sing? 

My parents are great singers and would always sing around the house growing up, as well as my older sister and little brother who I’d watch perform on stage at school. I think it was just natural for me to love singing from a very young age coming from such a musical family. I was very shy though so didn’t perform in front of anyone properly until mid-late teens, when I taught myself guitar. Writing was a way I could express myself (I have always kept journals) and Taylor Swift was a real inspiration on the songwriting side of things (and still very much is).

You are doing a lot of shows at the moment, where has your favourite show been since you started performing? 

I really enjoyed playing at The Finsbury recently. They have a separate room for gigs so it makes it much more intimate and the audience actually paid attention which was lovely. Had a great response and met some awesome people. Would love to go back there sometime!

What songs do you enjoy covering and what has been your favourite song to perform? 

Hmm, I only cover songs I feel I can actually do justice and they tend to be songs that aren’t so well known, but ones I genuinely love. Currently I might say Secrets From a Girl (who’s seen it all) by Lorde, I’m quite liking her album at the moment. My go to cover is probably Everywhere by Fleetwood Mac, people know that one and it’s just a tune. I rarely do covers live though cause I’m self obsessed and only like playing my own songs.

What songs do you enjoy listening to in your spare time and have any of them inspired you when creating your own songs? 

I love a real mix of artists, generally what they have in common is they write about their real life experiences, you can typically tell which songs have that authenticity to them. I tend to listen to full length albums rather than individual singles, my favourite things are lyrics and I could spend all day looking up the meanings of them on Genius. I came across Twenty One Pilots when I was in a rough spot years back and their music helped me a lot at that time. I was kind of amazed that someone could be so open about mental health within their lyrics. There are also a lot of female artists I love who experiment with their sound and inspire me to do the same; Lennon Stella, Maggie Rogers, Nina Nesbitt and a newer artist called Sansha, her music is exactly my vibe. I always try to be original with how I write a song, I would never want to just repeat what someone else has once written or sound exactly like another song of mine.

Being in the same work place, which can get quite stressful at times, is music a way that you can switch off from everyday life?

Absolutely. I’m constantly listening to music, in the car, in the shower, whilst cooking. It calms me down a lot of the time or gets me motivated when I'm nervous about something. If I’m a bit stressed and just want to chill I pick up my guitar and play a couple songs. It is really therapeutic and I’m always glad I learnt to play instruments. Not to sound bleak but performing on stage really makes me feel more alive than anything and being someone quiet, it can grab people's attention when they may not have taken much notice before. 

What have you got coming up for you in the near future? 

I am releasing a single soon! 10th June so keep your eyes peeled. I also hope to just keep gigging as often as I can over the summer and possibly release an E.P sometime this year, once I get round to recording it ha. The pandemic held everyone back 2 years and knocked my confidence a lot, so it’s time to catch up.