Thursday 4th August, 2022
A week away, & late by a day… here we go.
These days have been particularly busy, as will the rest of August. Uploading the album, finishing the film, making sure the live show is perfect, & actually convincing people to buy tickets to the September show… that’s a whole lot of work to get done. A perfect time to go on a four day hike with your sister, right?
I won’t chew your ear with all of the difficulties of the day… instead, let’s take a moment & appreciate the absolute joy of all that’s happened, & all that I have yet to do!!!! A brief story of the album so far.
On the 3rd of January I met my now producer, Brian. The two of us hit it off pretty quick… & to this day, we talk more than we work on studio days. (but that adds to the feel of the session… it’s also turned us into friends over the years.) We started with ‘Better Off Without You’… went for a Jon Bellion style production. It was honestly terrifying to hear one of my songs with all of those electronic sounds & instruments, with all of the polished production. Until that point, I had been an acoustic singer songwriter. Lucky for me, I had the pandemic to reinvent myself. Nathan Mac 2.0 started with that song.
Fun fact… there’s a special vocalist in the backing vocals on ‘Better Off Without You’. She’s also going to feature on one of the unreleased album tracks. Her name is Annie Jay. :)
Throughout the pandemic we worked on zoom, & actually met up when we could. ‘Carolina’ was next, then ‘The Boy Who Learned To Fly’. With each song I built momentum within the industry. I made some promotional contacts. I even got to chat on the radio a few times. Things were actually starting to feel possible. Not to mention, I was learning so much about myself, music, & the dreaded industry.
With each release, I was blown away by how I sounded, how Brian made me sound. You could stick me alongside the artists that I’ve loved for years: Imogen Heap, Owl City… a whole bunch. The other day, when I was listening to the album in full I actually teared up & had a happy cry for this same reason. To be a part of something so brilliant is astonishing. No matter what happens, I’ll always have the songs… & the ability to say: “that’s me”.
The next track? ‘Domestic Wars’… with none other than the most talented singer in history: Emily Hazel (my sister). Being able to bring her into the fold was truly lovely. For as long as I’ve been performing, I’ve been getting Emily to sing along when I can. Her first performance was at 14 in BIMM for one of my old assessments. We’ve played a bunch on stage since then, & now that she’s on ‘Broken & Beautiful’ as well… I guess she’ll HAVE to be in the September show… right?
‘Deirdre of the Sorrows’ is possibly the favourite song I’ve put out so far. It’s not mine though (my favourite one’s still unreleased) but it is at the top of my most loved songs. Funnily enough, I was trying to promote it while in my hospital bed, during my appendix surgery. I was super high on painkillers & antibiotics for like a whole week… Working on this one with Brian was really the first time that we unlocked an old vocal range I used to have. Getting into the shouty voice that I developed as a Glen Hansard wannabe, really pushed the emotion of Deirdre… maybe that’s why it’s people’s favourite. The good news with this is that we’ve actually pushed my voice further with another track on the album.
Then, the most recent release was’ Broken & Beautiful’… what can I say about this one? Not sure. (my brain is currently turning to mush.) What I can say is that it was released during a weird time in my life & I don’t think I ever gave it the shot it truly deserved. As a piece of this album though I’ll give it another shot, a new life. This song features in Learning Curve, the circus-musical. We were able to get the incredibly talented Sorcha Morgan into the studio to record vocals for the film. It’s a tremendous scene, full of sentimentality & magic.
Of the remaining songs, what is there to say? It’s been a life changing experience recording them. If you keep a close eye on the Patreon BTS videos, you’ll have a pretty good insight into the fun Brian & I have in the studio, & how we end up with a beautiful & cinematic sound. (Basically, whenever I’m not leading Brian down a rabbit hole.)
It’s late, I’ve a bunch of stuff to do tomorrow & some promo to do tonight… so I’ll bid you adieu.
Thanks for sticking around
Nathan
