Annie Mac Makes It Look Easy
In the wood-paneled lobby of Hollywood’s storied Roosevelt Hotel, Annie Mac sits on a leather couch, looking chic in a skirt and leather jacket, sipping soda and chatting with the sort of warmth, humor and direct eye contact that immediately puts you at ease.
Tonight, she’ll play a gig at the nearby nightclub Sound, and this weekend she’ll go back to the desert to play the second of her two Coachella gigs. Then it’s back to the UK to dig her heels in on her new job as the host of Radio 1’s weekday evening music show, a high-profile role she took over in March from the program’s legendary and longstanding host Zane Lowe. She’ll also continue hosting Annie Mac’s Friday Night, the show that brought her to prominence after she began on the station in 2004. The-36-year-old radio host/DJ/producer/festival organizer and general tastemaker is also the mother of a nearly two-year-old son with her boyfriend, DJ/producer Toddla T.
“If you’re really locked into the music, and you have your own private epiphany.”
So yeah, she’s busy. But if it is passion that ultimately fuels an ever more expansive career, Mac shows no signs of slowing.
Between your two radio shows, playing gigs, organizing your festival, and being a mother, you must be so busy. How are you pulling it off?
I guess in three or four months [after I settle into the new job], I’ll have a good idea about how it’s going to impact daily life. But no, I don’t think I’ve ever been so busy as now. I think as you get older, though, you develop different priorities. You learn how to say no, and you learn how to prioritize what you do for your work.
How so?
In the business sense, I have my own business priorities. I play my own events more now. Before, when I was taking off as a DJ, I would just say yes to everything, since I had nothing else going on. I think I may have been busier then, more engrossed in my work, and now I’m trying to find a balance.
How do you spend time when you’re not working?
In my house, with my family. Maybe going for walks, having meals with my friends. Standard chilling.
Something you said in a press release about this new show that was intriguing was about providing people with the “quiet epiphany of radio.” What does that mean to you?
Radio is a very intimate medium, in that you’ll have one person directly talking to you, and you can engage with them however you like. It acts sometimes as your friend. A lot of people have different relationships with the radio, whether it is in the car or at home or wherever, and they get to know the DJ very well.
When I find a track that I’ve fallen completely in love with, and I sell that track to you, that’s what I mean by the quiet epiphany—if you feel a track and feel moved by it, and you need to sit and be like, whoa. A lot of people text me or tweet me like, “I had to sit outside in the car for 45 minutes because the music was on.” That’s what I mean: if you’re really locked into the music, and you have your own private epiphany.
What do you want to be for people who are listening to you on the radio?
I want to be someone who’s trusted. I think inadvertently, people think that I’m a warm, cuddly person because of my style; they’re like, “Hey, Annie! Friend!” It’s like they know you.
Because you’re creating these intimate moments for them.
It’s kind of terrifying with the radio thing, actually. You begin to forget how much your voice is a part of people’s lives, and then someone brings up a story you told on the radio two months ago that they really related to, and you realize that people are emotionally connected to your voice, and that it means something to them.
“In the UK, it’s a lot easier to be a little more original…a bit more far-fetched in terms of your creative endeavors, you can do that and be celebrated on a mainstream platform.”
With this new show, you’re able to play a wider variety of music than before.
There’s no limits.
Is that intimidating or freeing?
It’s both of those. “Freeing” is absolutely the key; it’s really exiting to me. I have always been into bands—I grew up playing guitar and was surrounded by live bands and music growing up, especially with my brother around. So for me, it’s quite natural to love music like that, to go to gigs and see live music. But I think it’ll take a while for people to associate me with more than just dance music. It’s exciting, but also intimidating, since there’s such an incredible breadth of music out there. You can’t be an expert in everything.
What’s exciting to you right now in the world of dance music?
In terms of what I’m playing in my sets, I’ve been playing out Steve Lawler a lot. He’s been around a long time and plays very groovy, throwback Chicago house. I’ve gotten into quite tribally stuff; there’s a producer that calls himself Mellow from Liverpool that’s made a record call “Ambience”; that’s a track I’ve been playing every gig. It uses a sparse, tribal beat with a massive vocal over it. It’s just raw, and it changes the gear of the club.
In terms of America, Duke Dumont is killing it. He’s bringing an album this year that I think has the potential to really change things for American dance music. People are embracing him at the moment, and he’s really taking over. There are a lot of British acts that have come through lately—Disclosure, Clean Bandit—and are having an effect on the mainstream. They’re getting played on the radio, and it’s mental, brilliant. EDM might slowly change, and that excites me. There are more albums coming this year: Jamie xx, Julio Bashmore—classic house music. There are a lot of really good albums coming from dance music producers.
Do you sense that all of you UK artists are having a collective moment of greatness? Do you hang out and say, “Wow, we’re all killing it right now?’
We do all hang out. Like, we were at Holy Ship—Gorgon City, who is also doing great things in America right now, Dusky, Disclosure—a big group of British kids. We all stick together and when we see each other, it’s like, “We’re doing all right!”
Mac at Parklife 2014
I think Britain is an inspiring place to be: Not everyone has BBC in terms of radio, so it’s really helpful to be able to get your music out there and have a platform to get heard. I don’t know much about American radio, but I’ve heard it’s quite militant in terms of their system; they have ads and things. In Britain, we’re very lucky. we play whatever we want. We have a lot of young and independent producers that can release music independently without the need for labels, get played on the radio, get booked in really good gigs and have a solid career doing what they want, which is a beautiful situation to me.
Maybe that is something to do with why the UK scene has risen, in response to the commercial EDM you hear all over the radio in America.
It’s quite formulaic; people know that if they hit that formula, then they’ll get on the radio or the gig. Whereas in the UK, it’s a lot easier to be a little more original if you want to be. I’m not saying that EDM is awful, but if you want to be a bit more far-fetched in terms of your creative endeavors, you can do that and be celebrated on a mainstream platform.
“Everyone in life is going to try and tell you what you can’t do. Just try and have a can-do attitude.”
Do you think it was Disclosure that ushered in the era of house that we’re now in?
I mean, it’s funny; I just find the whole thing hilarious, because obviously Disclosure, Duke, they’re all inspired by American dance music producers—Masters at Work, Frankie Knuckles—all of the people that created and championed house music. It’s funny that it’s taken these young producers going over to America to get America to realize how fucking brilliant America is in the first place! [laughs]
What’s your opinion on women being underrepresented in the industry?
All I know are my own experiences. I know a lot of women that work in the industry but more behind the scenes—management roles and stuff. I have a couple of friends that are agents that have actually found it really hard: You can’t take maternity leave as an agent. You’re kind of immersed in this world. I welcome the day when there’s women in manager roles, running companies, running agencies, running record labels.
What’s your advice to young women in the industry?
Don’t underestimate yourself. Get out there; be confident; don’t downplay yourself, and be prepared to take no for an answer. Everyone in life is going to try and tell you what you can’t do. Just try and have a can-do attitude. If you find people that are like-minded, that are supportive, those people can really help you. I’ve had one particular lady, a tough New Yorker, that ran a music plugging company. She employed me, knew I wanted to do radio, and helped me get my job at Radio 1, even though I worked for her, and even though she’d get annoyed when I would have to leave. Sometimes you need that person to give you a break, and I will never forget that.
And finally, what are your goals?
To make this radio show successful, and to get more people to listen. And to expand my vision and try my hand at different things—TV documentaries and more. And most of all, to continue the work and have fun.
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