Interview: Angie McMahon // From Australia, the Debut Album and UK Tour
Angie McMahon is the voice of the tired and hungry, yet determined as ever 20-somethings in today’s world. She delivers powerful yet tender lyrics, backed up by soaring rock riffs and dynamic instrumentation. Coming from Australia, she has already made an international impact, including a sold out London headline and a first embark to the US. All of this was even before the release of her debut album “Salt,” which just came out this July 2019.
Her latest single release ‘Pasta’ has become her big hit. Lyrics opening with “My bedroom is a disaster / I spend too much time eating pasta” to the slogan “I’ve been lost” repeated throughout the song were lyrics relatable for any young person today. She explains in an interview that: “‘Pasta’ tells a story of very particular time for me. The “I’ve been lost” thing is about all the stuff you’re not doing and the places you’re not moving to yet. The song is about me wanting to do more songwriting and not having the motivation to finish songs. And then a song came out of it as I ended up writing a song about being stuck. It’s kind of meta. The thing that I like about this song is that it’s about wanting to move, and then towards the end, it moves. It picks up and runs, which is exactly what I was able to do. It felt a relief to write the end of that song, and a big relief to play it when we play it.”
In fact, ‘Pasta’ was such a breakthrough moment for Angie, that not only did it set her free of her long term writer's block, but also was the moment she decided to use a live band. “I was hearing the band section at the end, and I realised I can’t really pull this off on my own anymore, and I wanted to expand the sound.”
The vulnerability that Angie owns and shares in her music is potent, and also natural. It is evident that her songwriting is all routed from her personal experiences. But rather than coming from a place of trauma, she explains how it comes from a place of frustration about being unable to change what she sees in general life. For example, ‘And I Am A Woman’ - the song that was released just before her album release - was inspired after a date was unable to accept feminism or the idea of a world where women can feel safe. “I was so frustrated at the inability to express how angry I was getting. I felt I wasn’t being understood or seen.” The song was an outlet for this frustration, and Angie describes the meaning of ‘And I Am A Woman’: “With the lyrics in the chorus “You’re in my home now, and I am a woman,” I wanted to elaborate on the metaphor that our bodies are our home. It can be interpreted as ‘you’re inside my house,’ but it’s more around the idea of having autonomy over your personal space, and all of these things that come up when you think about women’s bodies, operating in the world and having your own safety and freedom.”
After honing her songs together with her band over the last two years, 2019 saw Angie take her band to the SXSW Festival, which ultimately saw her win this year’s Grulke Prize for Developing Non-US Act. An accolade held by Jade Bird last year, the Grulke prize is a title given by SXSW to artists they feel are delivering innovative creativity and have the potential for a long term career in performing ahead of them. “Well it was pretty amazing because we had been so stressed in the lead up to that trip, with American visas and the cost. It was a huge effort for our team. We just started working with an American booking agent and label, and an international team in the UK, and everyone is really hoping it goes well. So when you get something like that award, it’s such a reward for everyone working on the project - not just me. I was so happy everyone could see a reward for the work they were doing.”
Angie’s own value of community really comes through in everything she does, and admirably never even forgets to shout-out to every single person on her team during her live shows. “I think being a solo artist has potential to be isolating, but I realised how important it is to the job to be surrounded by good people. Touring is hard, but you get to build a family feeling. It’s been an interesting learning process to bring my solo music into this community sense. And hopefully it’s extended to the people who come on tour with us.” This includes one of Angie’s favourite artists, Canadian singer-songwriter Leif Volleback, who’s music Angie was so obsessed by, she invited him on her tour. Reciprocating an admiration for Angie’s song ‘If I Call You,’ the closing track on the new album, a series live collaborations between the two emerged, and Angie explained that the dream is for the two of them to ultimately write together.
Have no doubt that Angie is an artist whose deep voice and guitar riffs are worth supporting. Set to do a US support tour with Hozier in the latter half of 2019, and with more worldwide dates yet to be announced, ensure listen to Angie’s debut album “Salt” OUT NOW.
New Artists Angie Recommends: Quivers, Merpire, Billie Marten