STACK NZ Mar #60

MUSIC

FEATURE Crash Course In Pop In 2013 a very excited young lady by the name of Jamie McDell accepted the award for Best Pop Album at the New Zealand Music Awards. Since then she has been on a roll, releasing hit after hit and even gracing the stage in support of the Global Citizen movement. On the verge of the release of her second album, Ask Me Anything , she talks to Ricardo Kerr about her runaway success and the causes that motivate her.

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whereas the second album I feel I’ve sorta taken stories from other people. Maybe that’s a bit of me growing older - being more interested in other points of view. You are well known for your interest in environmental and social issues, including performing at the Global Citizen concert in Auckland in 2013. Is it important to you as an artist to use your status to highlight these issues? Absolutely. Through the Global Citizen concert and various things that I’ve done I’m starting to fully understand the positive influence I can have on others. It has really become one of my main drives to building this bigger platform for the things I think are important and the messages I believe in. I know heaps of people who grew up wanting to become have to make the most of it. What are your plans for the rest of the year? After the album is out we’re trying to put together a nationwide tour to show the new songs off. I’ve been working with the band for nearly three years now and we’re really excited for these shows. Other than that, I’ve got a few different conservation projects I’m working on. I’ll be actors or musicians but didn’t get the opportunities that I did so you really

STACK : Is it true that you’ve been working on Ask Me Anything since the release of your last album? JAMIE MCDELL: To be honest, I felt as though I had already written this second record by the time I released the first one. Even when you are releasing an album you’re still constantly writing. I’ve been lucky that I had some success from that first one and that I had people behind me wanting to hear a second. I just want to keep releasing albums for as long as I can and for as long as people want to hear them. On your new album you worked with producer Stuart Crichton, who has worked with Kylie Minogue and Delta Goodrem. How has he influenced this album? Stuart actually co-wrote some of this album with me. I was of the opinion that if I need a co- writer then maybe my song writing wasn’t good enough. But [Stuart] really believed in what I had to say more than anyone and that has given me a lot more backbone about myself and my work. Your lead single from the album Crash has given you another hit – did that come as a surprise or did you know it was special when you wrote it? To be honest I’m never able to preempt what people are going to think. With Crash I was worried I guess that maybe it was a bit too different for me and what I usually release. But at the end of the day I’m always trying to write songs that people can relate to and I’m just glad more than anything that the meaning of that has gotten across to so many people. Do you have a favourite track on Ask Me Anything ?

meaning. It’s a pretty dark song for me as well which I like. Where do you find your inspiration for your songs?

This is something that has definitely changed about me a lot over the last couple of years, like what I choose to write about. My first album was very much about myself and my life,

kayaking across the Abel Tasman on a kayak made from plastic bottles to raise awareness and show people that sustainability can be exciting! If I have time I’ll definitely be trying to work on a third album too.

There’s a song called Wicked Man and it’s probably my favourite. For me it’s just the ideal song for who I am and what I play. It’s very strong with just me and a guitar and it doesn’t have to rely on anybody else for its impact or

• Jamie McDell’s Ask Me Anything is out on March 27

MARCH 2015 JB Hi-Fi www.jbhifi.co.nz

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