Reminiscent of musicians such as John Martyn, Joni Mithell and Van Morrison, with a plethora of progressive influences to boot, Jimi Mack is about to release his anticipated debut EP.
So, how are you feeling about your first proper release?
Yeah, it’s great to “officially” be in the big bad world of the music industry. The sound at Rough Trade is incredible as well – I played there recently for Dot to Dot and it’s exciting to have such a great venue for the launch.
I hear you’re playing with a full band. How will this add to your sound?
It’s very big, yeah. I used to just play on my own, but Cam (drums) and I have been working together for a while now. I’ve changed from doing normal, folky stuff to trying some new things with the guitar, and then when you add drums, bass and an extra guitar to it just adds a whole new dynamic. James Hughes is an incredible jazz guitarist and can just jam on anything. It definitely transforms the music.
I don’t think you should have to feel the same for a whole song
The track Familiar Horizons starts with a dainty, acoustic intro and then out of nowhere comes this massive sound. Why did you choose this composition?
The first verse of Familiar Horizons is setting the scene and telling the story of one character, and then the ending is almost a different narrative. It’s not two separate songs put together, but it’s definitely two separate feelings. I don’t think you should have to feel the same for a whole song.
People who have heard me before will be expecting me to do an acoustic solo EP, finger style and singing. It will be cool for them to hear something different.
Your track Remedy is giving me Irish-folk vibes. How much do your Irish roots influence your music?
The melody is original so it’s not a folk song in the traditional sense, but it certainly has that vibe. That’s why it was cool to get Rob Rosa on the violin playing a wee fiddly part – I just wanted a track you can whack on and feel like you’ve just walked into your local on a Thursday night and a fiddly-dee band are playing.
Back home, whatever your background, if you walk into a pub and they’re playing Irish tunes everyone loves it. It’s great craic. Have a few beers, listen to a few tunes; it just feels wholesome.
Your lyrics are closer to poetry than contemporary music, is literature something that influences your song writing?
Definitely. I took loads of influence from the beat generation, particularly the work of Alan Ginsberg and Jack Kerouac. I discovered the idea of not necessarily writing a poem or a story in the conventional sense, but just baring on the page whatever comes into you head. I don’t try to think about where anything’s going, just let the subconscious flow. All that Kerouac bullshit.
How did you choose the track Salao to be the single?
It’s a real honest song. Even though I’ve played it to death I still feel passionate about playing it because it’s – sorry for the cliché – baring my soul.
To be honest, as soon as I wrote it I knew that it was the one. I was sitting up in my room trying the DADDAD tuning, and immediately the first thing I played was that riff. I showed it to Cam and said “I don’t know how you’re going to work the drums, man,” but what he plays now on the single is literally what he played first time. I had told him to listen to a lot of Pentangle so that probably helped.
How was your first experience of making a music video with little/no budget?
We had big plans for the video, but it’s hard to do what they do in the big boy videos. It was supposed to be very Alice in Wonderland-esque, but kind of turned into me sitting in a room with my mates, drinking diluted apple juice.
We had someone who was supposed to be coming to film, but they didn’t show up, so Barnaby helped out and he was incredible. He hadn’t used the camera equipment before, but he manned three cameras on the day. And my man Jeremy as well, who packed up his whole bedroom and moved it into the kitchen so we could film in his room.
The music video gets quite chaotic, is that what you were trying to depict?
Yeah, the song is about mental health issues. It’s about being there, but not being present. Salao means unlucky. It’s taken from Ernest Hemingway’s The Old Man and the Sea. There’s a line in it, “They charm the choosers, I am Salao,” which is about watching other people do well, and even though you’re in a good situation and have nothing to complain about, making you feel you need more.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
I’m really blessed to have such a good line up for the EP launch – Felix MB is incredible, and Burnt Paw is awesome, real dark alt kind of stuff. The Soft Girls and Boys Club are not just my mates, but genuinely one of my favourite bands. Do Nothing are awesome, too, and I’m pretty sure Cherry Hex are gonna be big timers pretty soon. Outside of Notts, I recently supported Ryley Walker at Rescue Rooms and the man is just a legend.
You’ve just been on a mini UK tour…
It was a real boyhood dream. I spent about a month sending 100 emails a day pissing off every promoter in the country; I’ll probably never get a gig with half of them ever again because of it. We got eleven gigs altogether. We didn’t make any money, I actually lost money on petrol, but it was amazing playing across the country.
What’s next?
I’ve got some festivals coming up. Big up Splendour with the Busted massive. And we are gonna tour the EP. We’ve got a lot of new dates in England, we’re going to Wales which will be cool, and I’ve also got one cheeky Europe date. Driving around, drinking pints and playing tunes to people is just the dream.
Catch Jimi Mack’s EP launch on Friday 23 June, 7pm at Rough Trade.
Pre order the EP on Jimi’s Facebook
EP Launch Event on Facebook
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