“This is a pretty fantastic piece of music” – Mcbae with “Lets Go” feat. Kulture

This is a pretty fantastic piece of music, a great way to start the weekend. The energy is just about as high as can be, right from the start, yet just as you think it may be getting complacent in it’s sound and structure, everything develops and evolves. The leading riff, or more so, those three distorted synth notes that play on repeat, as simplistic as they are, really wrap around you and get caught in your mind. This is undoubtedly one of those tracks that would draw you to your feet and indeed get you flying high when you’re out at the weekend.

The change in the music, the first point at which the intensity breaks away and let’s you take a breather, is really well placed. It keeps you interested, and it also shows that there is more to the producer or the artist (the creator) than just a simple set of loops effectively compressed. There’s enough space later on in the track to appreciate the sounds and the work involved, and the vocal part is kept to a minimal as well, so it adds a further dynamic without leaving you remembering this as some track with a repetitive, single word hook that is shouted far too many times. On the contrary, the voice adds even more energy as the track comes towards it’s end.

It’s a massive track, one you’d instantly recognise on nights out, or anywhere in fact, and this is true from the very first few seconds of music. There’s a fresh energy that comes with it but there’s also a classic early nineties sort of nostalgia. It would be great to hear more music of a similar craft to see what sort of riffs and feelings come out through even more creative play.

By Rebecca Cullen

Rebecca is a Musician and writer from Manchester, UK, with an MA in Song Writing.

EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW:

Exposed Vocals: So tell us your story. Where did you grow up? What made you decide to become an artist?

McBae: Where to start.. Well, i grew up in a small town called Waterloo, in Ontario Canada. The town itself was hugely influenced by technology as well as music. Being the home of the Blackberry and the closet city to Toronto with good nightclubs. Music was always something i wanted to get into. At first it was me begging my parents for guitar lessons, shortly after that i was researching how to produce dance music and before you know it i got my first setup, and it all started there.

Exposed Vocals: How did you come up with that name? What was your inspiration behind it?

McBae: My Artist name ‘McBae’ came from my last name which is ‘McBay’. All throughout school my best friends name was Brandon… and so is mine. So, it got confusing for our friends calling us the same name all the time. Eventually, I ended up always getting called by my last name. When it came time to pick an artist name, I believed ‘McBae’ would be best because it was a play on words as well as what everyone already knew me as.

Exposed Vocals: What do you think about online music sharing? Do you ever give your music away for free? Why?

McBae: I strongly believe that without the online music platforms that we have today, i would not have been able to accomplish what i have in this time. Its amazing to think once you finish a song that it can be uploaded on multiple applications for millions of people to listen to. Also i would not have been able to network and meet some of the very influential people in my music journey. & I give away all my music for free.

Exposed Vocals: Since everyone was a start-up once, can you give any smaller or local bands or artists looking to get gigs and airplay some tips?

McBae: One of the things i found most successful to getting gigs was to have all social media up to date and stay on top of it. 90% of the time someone will find you online. Theres no phonebooks or yellow pages anymore, when people are looking for entertainers they go online, read reviews and contact you through that site or application. Also, the gigs that you do get booked do an exceptional job because word of mouth is one of the easiest ways to get booked.

Exposed Vocals: Do you ever make mistakes during performances? How do you handle that?

McBae: Ofcourse, not everyone is perfect. Its always bound to happen when your preforming. Personally my best way to handle it is just play it off cool, get into the next track or continue
where you left off. If its something that will stop the show and the people dancing, always address it and try to make a joke out of it, then right back into the music.

Exposed Vocals: Do you tour? Anything interesting happen on tour that you think our readers would enjoy hearing about?

McBae: Yes I do tour, Just recently in August me and Kulture went out to Boston for a week & played some shows and worked on some music in our Grand Theory Creative Studio. We ended up playing Live to Air on PUSH 978 radio hosted by DJ 6 Pac, as well as started a few projects with Boston rapper Matthew Mills.

Exposed Vocals: Where do you usually gather songwriting inspiration? What is your usual songwriting process?

McBae: A lot of my inspiration comes from just being alone. When i am alone in the studio my mind is racing with ideas and melodies. I also find that the later at night I am up working, the more productive I become. The Process for me behind songwriting all starts with a a simple melody and you become creative with that one piece to create a whole track.

Exposed Vocals: Do you have a band website? What online platforms do you use to share your music?

McBae: My Artist website is currently in the works, but will drop early 2017. On that page i hope to have all links to the platforms I share my music on, like Soundcloud, Mix Cloud, Twitter and Facebook. Hoping to get some music on Spotify, Apple Music and Google Play Music in early 2017 as well.

Exposed Vocals: What are some really embarrassing songs that we might find on your mp3 player?

McBae: Well, i do have quite a large selection of music but id have to say the most embarrassing song you could find on my mp3 player would be “The Fox – Ylvis” Exposed Vocals: If you were given half a million dollars and a year off, what would you do? How would you spend it? McBae: If i had half a million dollars i would probably buy a nice cottage and live there all year round. Build a nice studio overlooking the lake and spoil my girlfriend with the rest.

Exposed Vocals: Any planned studio upgrades? What are you working with now?
McBae: No plans in the near future for upgrades as i just recently upgraded my studio. But as of right now i am using a M-audio Key Station 49, Machine MK2 and for my DAW I use Machine and Pro Tools.

Exposed Vocals: How do you find ways to promote your music? What works best for you?

McBae: Most of my music promo is done through Twitter and Facebook. If your followers are active and you keep up to date on all social media, a few posts can go along way. I also like to reach out to other DJs and share my music with them. If they like it, they will play it and that is promotion right there.

Exposed Vocals: If you could perform anywhere and with any artists (Dead or Alive) where and who would it be with? Why?

McBae: If there is one DJ/Artist that i could preform with today id have to say it would be Eric Prydz. Ive seen Eric preform many times and its amazing how he can control the crowd without even saying a word on the mic. A big part of my performances is mic work and crowd hype, I feel like with his talent of talking through music and me reading a crowd and knowing what to say and when, we could put on a massive show.
Exposed Vocals: So, what’s next? Any new upcoming projects that you want to talk about?

McBae: There is plenty on the way!! One of my favourite projects that is on the way is a Hip Hop/EDM collaboration with Boston rapper Matthew Mills. This is something we have been working on for quite some time now, but I can be sure that it will be worth the wait. I also have a 4 song EP that i am hoping to release in early 2017, featuring collaborations with Kulture and Matthew Mills.

Exposed Vocals: If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing?

McBae: Wow, what a question. Id probably go crazy. Music is one of the few things that actually keeps me sane.. But honestly, thinking back to before i was making music i would have been playing video games. I have not touched a controller since i started producing back in 2012, so naturally i feel like that would happen again.

Exposed Vocals: Do you remember buying your first album? Who was it? What was going through your head?

McBae: Yes i do !! my very first album i purchased i was about 6 years old and it was Michael Jackson’s HIStory album. Had 3 discs and all his best hits. I was a huge MJ fan as a kid. Actually had a cardboard sized cut out of him in my room for about 4 years.

Exposed Vocals: How do you juggle the rest of your responsibilities while trying to stay ahead in your music life?

McBae: Well, i mean i gotta pay the bills at the end of they day, so i honestly put music on the back burner most of the time. I do work a full time job so whenever I get free time i normally spend it in the studio or with my family and girlfriend.

Exposed Vocals: What should fans look forward to in the next year or so?

McBae: In the next year or so, I will be releasing my EP as well as my collaborative project with Matthew Mills and the rest of my Grand Theory Team. Also we are planning a north american tour next summer, so hopefully can bring that to a city near you. McBae x Grand Theory Merch will be launching before the tour and of course plenty of more spontaneous track releases.