By Angie Nova

Taking on the world in the midst of an international pandemic are MadgesdiqCEG, an up-and-coming musical duo based out of Portland, Oregon. They are not only musical soulmates, but business entrepreneurs in the yoga industry trying to spread love and light in a time where it feels like there’s only chaos and injustice. Join me in reading about their fateful beginnings, how COVID19 has affected their craft, and introduce Portland’s first ever locally-owned yoga supply store!

Angie: How did MadjesdiqCEG form?

MadgesdiqCEG: We met in 2017 at a Spoken Word event we were both attending called Verslandia. At the time, CEG wasn’t even pursuing a career or path in music, though she had been singing her entire life I would come to find out. We exchanged numbers that day, and kept in moderate contact via phone and social media over the next couple of years.

Then in the summer of 2019, I (Madgesdiq) was looking for a vocalist for a couple of tracks I was working on for a solo project. By this time CEG had jumped in full board on the music thing, so I reached out to her and asked her if she’d be down to come lend her voice on a couple of tunes. She said, “Of course, I’m wit’ it.” A day or two later, I swooped her, we hit the ‘Dojo’, we played her the first track ‘Water and Seed’ and she blessed it, right away something nice, with this dancehall type vibe. It was perfect, and I was like, “Yeah, this is it.” and there it began.

From there, more studio sessions followed. She then came to a live show, and without warning I invited her on stage. With no hesitation, she accepted the invite and stepped on stage and did her thang, yo. It felt so natural and easy. Both the music we were writing, as well as the performance, just vibed. Then it was official. MadgesdiqCEG was off and running.

Angie: What is the process like for finding the right sound?

guy smiling over girls shoulder as she poses and smiles

MadgesdiqCEG: Combining what comes naturally until it comes together and FEELS like, “YES, THIS IS IT.” You just KNOW when it’s perfect, when it’s right, and when it’s butter. It’s about letting go of expectations & judgments -- breaking free from the chains of conditioning to channel the love of the universe through sound. CEG loves playing with and bending sound - her voice is her instrument - though she is also learning guitar, piano and already plays clarinet and trombone. Madgesdiq writes amazing compositions for singers and didn’t even know it, so it was really easy for me (CEG) whose mother is a professional vocalist and taught me the love of music since before I could form words, to bring out the melodies that he outlines. We have been working together to evolve his voice as a vocalist and it especially comes out during live shows.

Angie: How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the music scene for you guys personally?

Drawing of a man and women in hotspring looking up at the sky as sun sets in desert with top text "Come Alive"

MadgesdiqCEG: Just like most musicians, DJ’s and others in the field, the pandemic has affected our ability to get out and play live shows - touch the people in person. Before the pandemic, we were performing regularly. Momentum was building nice, but then the shutdowns happened. But on the flipside it hasn’t been all bad though. We’ve been creating and recording a bunch of new material, we’ve been able to do some live streamed shows, and perform at some rallies and marches. Although it’s not that club or venue scene, we’re still finding ways to share, stay active, and keep the vibes flowing. An example would be us releasing our debut EP ‘Come Alive’ here recently.

Just been a real creative and planning time for us. Focusing what we can control and do, rather than allowing the down of the pandemic to discourage or stop us. The vibes must go on.

Angie: What can we expect from MadgesdiqCEG in the future?

MadjesdiqCEG: More good vibes and more good music and whatever else the most high has in store for us.

Right now, we are planning to release some more MadgesdiqCEG singles, a solo project from each of us, then another MadgesdiqCEG project here in 2021, but we’ll see how it flows. Guarantee though, more music will be coming.

We’re just looking to continue to grow and expand, reach more beings with the message and vibration we share in whatever way we feel inspired and are instructed to do so.

Angie: Tell us about your yoga store!

MadgesdiqCEG: In fall of 2019, Madgesdiq was telling me (CEG) about this amazing yoga teacher training that he had found. Little did he know, I had taken yoga in 2011 and 2012 for a health credit. Then I had my first internship in 2013 at the yoga studio my instructor from previous years had opened. Ever since, I had been searching for the right teacher training program and everything that he talked about checked every box on the list of what I was waiting for in a program. After meditating on if we could attend class together and remain focused, we pulled the trigger on an experience that would end up bringing us closer than we’d ever imagined.

Then, while immersing ourselves even more into the world of yoga in Portland, we realized just how hard it was to find ethical, sustainably sourced yoga equipment, supplies, and clothing at a reasonable price locally. You could order online, you could get something cheap and unsustainable from a giant corporation, you could go to a (inter)national “B Corp” business that jacks their prices WAY up and cuts corners on sustainability wherever possible to maximize profit, or you could go to your yoga studios shop with a tiny selection, oftentimes still high prices, and where sustainably sourced items are hit or miss. Not only that, but we could not find a SINGLE extra long extra wide mat for Madgesdiq that was sustainably sourced. He’s 6’3 and had an entire basketball career before beginning music at 27 y/o, so a standard size mat just doesn’t cut it for him and if not him, certainly not for the majority of professional athletes and just larger human beings in general.

CEG’s parents are both small business owners, so the wheels had been spinning for months when they finally decided to pull the trigger in June of 2020 and write a business plan for Portland’s first ever locally-owned yoga supply store - which just happens to also be B(I)POC owned & operated. We opened online on Nov. 15th of 2020 with the mission to guide people back to a space of peace and health by supplying yoga & meditation equipment with love every step of the way.

To learn more about MadgesdiqCEG’s locally owned yoga supply store, visit

www.withlovenad.com!

Readers can use code: ContagionMedia for 11% off their entire first order.