Chicago-based musician HODJE shares the sparkling new single ‘Make Me The Villain’. The brainchild of singer-songwriter and producer Margaret Young, the solo artist uses the alias ‘HODJE’ to honor her great grandmother, Nina Hodge, who was a touring actress and singer. Making ethereal, emotive and hauntingly addictive electronic-pop soundscapes, Young’s unique and unquestionably beautiful songwriting shines on the new single.
Bringing together swelling synths with punching drum machine, her silky vocals, subtle vocoders and honest, story telling lyricism, ‘Make Me The Villian’ possesses a 80’s infused vibrancy. As the track slides into its chorus with a subtle key change and the introduction of a processed violin, the emotional, reflective nature of the lyricism is brought to the fore.
The chorus comes to a close with bleeding notes melting over the soundscape before in the later stages of the track, layers of strings, intertwining vocals and subtle layers of arpeggiators creates a beautiful, shiver-inducing middle-eight, closing the track with a warming sense of melancholy and relatability.
Speaking about the single, HODJE shares:
“The song, to me, is about accepting that sometimes standing up for ourselves might mean we are characterized as the villain in someone else’s story. The hook of the song is ‘make me the villain and set me free,’ and that’s because there is something freeing about accepting that we can’t control people’s opinions of us or what character role we are assigned to.”
Having inherited her love of music from her dad, who is a keyboard player, as well as her grandfather, who worked at Gibson, HODJE has music in her blood. Her previous releases have already garnered a whole host of support, gaining thousands of streams and press acclaim from the likes of Lock Magazine and CLOUT.
