Meg Mac stays strong
Major labels jostled to sign Meg Mac but the young Melbourne-based soul-pop chanteuse decided to stay independent. "It felt like the least scary way to do music," the 24-year-old, born Megan McInerney, says from her adopted home town.
"When you see the contracts, it seems like a lot of pressure. I find I can do better if I'm not scared."
This month McInerney unveils debut five-track EP MEGMAC on Perth music industry veteran Pete Carroll's label, littleBIGMANrecords.
While she started writing songs at 17, McInerney penned the oldest track on the EP, Known Better, two years ago when she was studying music at the WA Academy of Performing Arts in Perth.
Four of the songs, including Triple J favourites Roll Up Your Sleeves and Every Lie, were recorded at Eskimo Joe's Wastelands studio in O'Connor with Joel Quartermain.
McInerney teamed with Melbourne hip-hopper M-Phazes to record a raw, stripped-back cover of Bill Withers' 1971 song, Grandma's Hands.
The budding songstress says Grandma's Hands best epitomises the sound she'd like to explore further on her debut album, on which she hopes to begin work early next year.
The soul flavours on MEGMAC come from the music her father played while she grew up in Sydney - lots of Motown and Ray Charles, usually played loud. "It was the first time I linked music with an emotion," McInerney says. "(Charles) can tug your heartstrings with his voice. To this day, I still remember the way he made me feel as a kid."
French chanteuses such as Edith Piaf and, in particular, the vocal gymnastics of Camille also left a strong impression.
"I'd never heard anything like that and I was pretty obsessed," says McInerney, who is demure in interviews but a powerhouse on stage.
"The world opened up. I'd never heard someone use their voice like that."
While her younger sister Hannah, who plays piano in her five-piece touring band, writes down lyrics, the 24-year-old plucks words and phrases from the air, building songs from memory and what feels right.
McInerney says Roll Up Your Sleeves, with the refrain "Everything is going to be all right", is about "trying to do the right thing, even if it's harder" and directed at herself. "Still now, when I'm stressed about this stuff I'm like 'Take your own advice'."
While she found the label attention somewhat disconcerting, McInerney is enjoying hearing her music on radio and the fact this month's national tour has already sold out.
"I'm finding it really reassuring and nice to know that I'm not singing to myself," she says.
"People are listening. I've got people to sing to and that's my favourite thing."
