A Conversation With Mij Mack

Mij Mack has grown a steady list of fans including the likes of Anna Lunoe (Beats1), Flava D, AC Slater, Pete Graham, Moksi (BBC1XTRA), Astronomar, Erick Morillo, Maya Jane Coles and many more. Along with making fans in high places the producer and DJ has released on labels such as Black Butter Records, Kenja Records, Rhythm Control Records and Moonshake Records. Now, Dance Rebals also had the chance to catch up with him in a recent interview too, check it out below:

Hey Mij Mack, welcome to Dance Rebels, how are you? Please also let us know where you’re from too?​  ​Hey! I’m good thank you. I was born and raised in Cheltenham.

What inspired you to pursue your career in the music industry? What sacrifices did you have to make en-route too?​ ​When I was 8 there was a drumkit and piano in the house which I loved playing around on. I have been fascinated with music for as long as I can remember. There was 90’s dance music blaring in the house from my parents gigantic ATC speakers, hearing these records at an early age has definitely had an influence on me. It wasn’t until I turned 16 when I downloaded Ableton and started to experiment with sounds. At this time I had also started to Dj at house parties and school discos. Between the ages of 20 and 25, I sacrificed a lot of my free time into music production and improving my craft.

Musically, youve got an album set for release later this year, and one of the first tracks off of it drops July 31st, entitled ‘I Can Go’, tell us about this track, what does it mean to you? “I Can Go” is the first single that’s releasing from the album. I made this track back in January, at the time I had the winter blues and I felt like jumping on a plane and escaping to a warmer climate.

For your album, are you curating a story/soundtrack, or just a selection of tracks put together which you vibe? How long have you been working on the album for? One of the tracks from the album is a couple of years old, so I guess I have been working on this album on and off for 2 years. The album title “Elysium” means paradise in ancient greek which is the story/theme for the album. All of the tracks were curated specifically to suit the theme but I hope listeners can incorporate their own stories into it.

What’s been the most challenging part of creating your album? How many hours per day do you put towards studio time too? I’m not your typical producer who might spend every day in the studio. I usually only work when I feel inspired and the outcomes I get through working this way are much superior to my early music-making days which would involve me spending every day in the studio. Nowadays I often have months between making tracks. When I do have inspiration I can be in the studio for a couple of weeks and I usually do 10 hour days. The biggest challenge was song selection as I wanted to keep the theme of Elysium flowing through the album. I originally made 15 tracks which were selectively narrowed down to 10.

What’s been the most rewarding part of creating your album? Do you work in a certain way when starting up a new track, i.e. melody first or? Do you prefer working off of a laptop, or in a big production studio with lots of kit? The most rewarding part for me Is seeing how people react to my music. Making music has always been my tool for expressing my thoughts and emotions and I’m very happy when I can captivate an emotion and put it into sound as I have never been good at expressing emotions through words. The way I approach every track is slightly different from the last. The tracks I make often revolve around a melody or sample but sometimes I create the drums first and then add the musical parts. When I’m in the UK I work from my small home studio, I use my laptop for when I’m on the go or travelling. 

What’s your personal favourite record coming within the album too? Also, if you could collab with any artist or vocalist on a bonus track for the album, who? And why? My favourite track of the album is “Beyond Eden”. For the bonus track, it would have to be with “Sara Schachner” she is a classical composer who has done soundtracks for films and video games including ‘Assasins Creed”, I think it would be cool to combine our different musical backgrounds. 

Finally, if you could give one piece of advice to a young DJ/producer, what would it be, and why? Always aim for good enough but not perfect as perfectionism is harmful and will hinder your creativity.