Heather Mac celebrates the release of her new CD at the Baxter tomorrow. Heather Mac celebrates the release of her new CD at the Baxter tomorrow.
It was difficult to be a diva back in the 1980s. South Africa was fired up and the cops were clamping down. Anybody out of line was a target, and that included musicians. Between the boys in blue, racially-divided radio stations and a prehistoric censor board, it was tough. You couldn’t even advertise your gigs on Facebook because there was no “interweb”.
But the divas did arise – Jennifer Ferguson, Tina Schouw, Yvonne Chaka Chaka. And the most startling of them all? Heather Mac, lead vocalist for Ella Mental. The band was a polished rock act, but more than that, they provided a real show. They were theatrical. They used lights. They wore costumes. And they featured the androgynous figure of Heather Mac, part David Byrne, part Annie Lennox, totally charismatic.
The band were big in South Africa before they left for Ireland, where Mac and guitarist Tim Parr settled for several years. They were signed by Warner Brothers and spent six months recording an album in Los Angeles, which was released in the UK, US, Australia and Europe – but not here. The band finally disbanded in 1992 and Mac and Parr moved back to Cape Town, but not together. Mac has since been involved in various musical projects as well as running her own theatre company. But the release of Within marks a special milestone – her first studio album in 20 years.
“It’s a revealing thing to do,” she says. “The songs that are on the album all come from different life experiences, and they’re very personal. Some go back to my Irish period, others are much more recent. But they’ve all got a resonance.”
It’s been a labour of love for Mac, with her musical and life partner Mark Harris, who plays guitar on the album. “We took about a year to put it all together. What has been so amazing has been the offerings made by other musicians who got involved. People just came on board, and I feel so honoured to be playing with them,” says Mac. The line-up includes Parr on lead guitar, Edi Niederlander on guitar, Terence Scarr on violin, Paul Tizzard on drums, Tonia Selley on percussion and vocals and Roger Bashew on bass.
“We recorded in Roger’s studio in a forest in Hout Bay. I think one of the most liberating aspects of the process is that we haven’t had a studio boss breathing down our backs telling us what to include or throw out,” smiles Mac. “It’s been our baby. And throughout all this, Mark has been my sweetheart, my hero, my rock and my boat when I’ve wanted to go out to sea.
“It’s also been so much fun, basically. That’s something I needed after a pretty rough couple of years.”
The singer has undergone three serious operations and spent more than eight months on her back. “It gives you a lot of time to think about things, about what is important,” she says. Getting down the songs that have meant so much was a clear priority.
It’s an eclectic, engaging playlist, ranging from the rousing A Green World to the poignant Autumn, the sweetly sad tribute to James Phillips (Jamie) and the sole “cover version”, Robbie Robb’s melodic Indifferent Strangers. The arrangements are subtle, the instrumentation clear and distinctive, Mac’s vocals as assertive as ever.
She laughs. “I played it to a guy who works in the music industry, and while he liked it, he also said: ‘Heather, it’s so earnest.’ As though that was a problem. Maybe they are earnest, these songs – but I think they cover universal themes, of love, loss, happiness, anger. I hope that others will find them valuable, that they’ll enjoy each and every song in its own right,” says Mac.
If there’s one thing Mac is earnest about, it is the role of musicians in society – specifically, her own role. “I’ve always wanted to use my music as a way to speak out – whether about a fiery relationship, or an environmental stuff-up, or how the death of a friend can make one feel.
“Even with Ella Mental, which was essentially a hard rocking band, our songs all had a spiritual side. They could also be seen metaphorically in terms of lifting the curtain that was hanging over South Africa at that time.”
What bothers her is when she doesn’t see that happening with new bands. “I want to know, where’s that angry voice? Who’s speaking out against fracking? Why aren’t people getting worked up?”
So if people find an earnest edge to Within, Mac will take it as a compliment. She’s busy channelling all her energy into the launch of the album tomorrow at the Baxter. Mac will be joined by most performers on the CD, as well as guests. “It’s going to be a real jol – I’ve got special costumes designed for the performance, we’re working on the lighting, it’s going to be dramatic.”
Yup. Mac is back.
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