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| Source: @macbenson_ on Twitter |
Typically, artists only tend to bare elements of themselves in their craft, like there is a threadbare sheet between them and their audience. With his paled aesthetic and serene vibe, I figured that this would also be the case for Newcastle based Mac Benson. The nineteen-year-old seemed far too polished and rounded to illustrate the truth behind adolescence through his music, but as I indulged in his SoundCloud, he proved me wrong in the most lounging way.
Mac relishes in creating lo-fi, charming tracks that breeze past you and fuzz at the hairs on your neck. His most recent release in August, 'Divine' is lingering and clean, describing the struggles and complexities of young relationships. Authenticity glimmers among the beats while his vocals float between them, verbalising lyricism so luculent that despite never experiencing the exact scenes depicted in the song, my heart wrenched in conjunction with the melodies regardless - 'If I'm not on your body I'm not alive / Just pull me closer, boy, 'cause you're so divine'.
I spoke a little bit to the guy behind the music, trying to delve a little deeper into the mind responsible for the beautifully raw lyrics. Mac has always been unapologetic when it comes to his expression, 'I've always written love songs for as long as I've been writing but realised that they were never really gender-specific or neither did they discuss my sexuality, and I didn't really mind nor did I see it as a problem.' With the rise of gender-neutral romanticism in music, Mac is proud to be a trailblazer in this movement, 'But then I started to see so many queer people identifying with my music and it made me so happy, made me want to write songs that said 'Hey, you know, this is for you, this is about you.''
Originally from Cumbria, England, Mac Benson has been writing both lyrically and musically for his releases for years, freeing them onto sites like SoundCloud and Bandcamp and gaining a commendably positive reception. His prior tracks span from shadowy interlude, 'Bedsheets', released in June of this year, all the way back to EP, 'Love and All its Colours', a light anthology of flowing tracks released in early twenty-eighteen. It is obvious that Mac's music has grown in parallel to him as a person, using his creations as an emotional outlet and thriving in doing so. This artist is one of the most aware, intricate people I have ever spoken to; he has a purpose, he is pioneering - 'I would love to write a song that explores the politics of being queer and to write about the struggles that it entails.' Not only is Mac a figure for LGBTQ+ youth, using his platform to unashamedly entwine his personal life with his music, he is also intelligent and pursuing, showing an avid awareness of his surroundings and a motivation to improve societal conditions on a wider scale.
Mac relishes in creating lo-fi, charming tracks that breeze past you and fuzz at the hairs on your neck. His most recent release in August, 'Divine' is lingering and clean, describing the struggles and complexities of young relationships. Authenticity glimmers among the beats while his vocals float between them, verbalising lyricism so luculent that despite never experiencing the exact scenes depicted in the song, my heart wrenched in conjunction with the melodies regardless - 'If I'm not on your body I'm not alive / Just pull me closer, boy, 'cause you're so divine'.
I spoke a little bit to the guy behind the music, trying to delve a little deeper into the mind responsible for the beautifully raw lyrics. Mac has always been unapologetic when it comes to his expression, 'I've always written love songs for as long as I've been writing but realised that they were never really gender-specific or neither did they discuss my sexuality, and I didn't really mind nor did I see it as a problem.' With the rise of gender-neutral romanticism in music, Mac is proud to be a trailblazer in this movement, 'But then I started to see so many queer people identifying with my music and it made me so happy, made me want to write songs that said 'Hey, you know, this is for you, this is about you.''
Originally from Cumbria, England, Mac Benson has been writing both lyrically and musically for his releases for years, freeing them onto sites like SoundCloud and Bandcamp and gaining a commendably positive reception. His prior tracks span from shadowy interlude, 'Bedsheets', released in June of this year, all the way back to EP, 'Love and All its Colours', a light anthology of flowing tracks released in early twenty-eighteen. It is obvious that Mac's music has grown in parallel to him as a person, using his creations as an emotional outlet and thriving in doing so. This artist is one of the most aware, intricate people I have ever spoken to; he has a purpose, he is pioneering - 'I would love to write a song that explores the politics of being queer and to write about the struggles that it entails.' Not only is Mac a figure for LGBTQ+ youth, using his platform to unashamedly entwine his personal life with his music, he is also intelligent and pursuing, showing an avid awareness of his surroundings and a motivation to improve societal conditions on a wider scale.
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| Source: 'Home With Me Audio' by mac benson on Youtube |
I decided to take a more personal approach when interviewing Mac because I was interested in exploring the inner workings that contributed to his dreamy music. During our candid interaction, he detailed his writing process, beamed about his aesthetic influences, and allowed us into his conscious psyche...
- INTERVIEW CONDUCTED WITH MAC BENSON -
Can we start off with talking a bit about your style - what kind of genre you would consider your music to be, and what artists you draw inspiration from?
I'd say my music fits into the Pop genre and my music is heavily inspired by that. I've always been really into Pop music and Pop culture from a young age, I always loved Britney and the Spice Girls when I was younger and I grew up on Lady Gaga, Lorde, Charli XCX, Troye Sivan, Frank Ocean, those kinds of artists who are constantly breaking moulds and pushing boundaries.
Your songs have a really personal feel... Do you take inspiration from things that happen to you in reality or are songs based on more of a conceptual mouthpiece?
Yeah, most of the time my songs are based on things that happen to me and are pretty much one hundred percent autobiographical. I've tried to write in character before, or from the perspective of another person but something just always feels off about it. I don't know, I think before I was even putting out music, writing was always a coping mechanism for me; a way to realise and work through my own thoughts and feelings, so that's the way I write and probably the way I always will.
Can you tell me about your writing process? Do you have a specific process as such or do you just write your thoughts when they come to you?
It's ever-changing honestly. But most of the time it'll start with me at either a piano or guitar, just singing things that come to mind, or having a theme or event that I know I want to write about and just coming up with things from there. I'll sit for two hours at the most and just write things, record them on my phone and then once there's a solid idea there and a melody, everything just falls into place. However, there is the odd occasion, because I produce all my own music, where I'll get an idea for a sound I want, like a synth line or something, create the beat and then write over that.
Most of the time as of recently though, I'm usually writing with a standard Pop structure in mind. A lot of my recent stuff in terms of writing style is heavily influenced by the likes of Taylor Swift, who I think has mastered the art of writing a pop song which has both clever writing and catchy, intricate melodies.
Moreso in terms of visuals, you have a very clear and brandable aesthetic. Where did you come up with this concept?
Honestly, probably from growing up and being a teenager when things like Tumblr were popular. I used to spend hours on there just reblogging things that I liked the look of and have probably just referenced images on there to create my own aesthetic. I've always really admired photographers whose photos you can look at out of context and still know it's their work based on the style, like Petra Collins or Neil Krug. And I've always been really into the idea of minimalism, I think it kinda shows in both my production style and my 'image'.
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| Source: macbenson.bandcamp.com |
Well, I'm very lucky to have come from a family who was always really accepting of my queerness. From a really young age, I was quite femme and quite atypical as a boy, but my parents never questioned that, they always just let me exist and express freely. I've always written love songs for as long as I've been writing but realised that they were never really gender-specific or neither did they discuss my sexuality, and I didn't really mind nor did I see it as a problem. But then I started to see so many queer people identifying with my music and it made me so happy, made me want to write songs that said 'Hey, you know, this is for you, this is about you.' I also just started seeing people like Frank Ocean and Troye Sivan discussing their sexuality and their experiences as gay men so frankly in their music and I found it really inspiring. It made me feel closer to their art because I felt like I was finally hearing my own experiences in music and from then on, I decided that I wanted to write like that too. I wanted other gay kids to listen to my songs just as I had Frank's and Troye's and hear their own experience.
I also think we're in this weird space right now where things like homophobia and transphobia feel more rampant than ever before, but at the same time, the queer experience is at the forefront of TV and media with shows like Drag Race, Euphoria, Pose and so on. I just want to be a part of that. I think to not discuss my sexuality in my music would be stupid. We still have so far to go in the way of acceptance towards LGBTQ+ people and if me purely existing and making music about it is going to make even the smallest change or help to normalise it, that's all I want.
If you could say something to LGBTQ+ kids that are feeling discouraged because of the prejudices shown in the media and in music, how would you reassure them?
I would tell them just to keep fighting the fight. We've faced adversity for literally centuries now but people like myself and other artists are still out, still proud and not shying away from it. I would encourage others to do the same. If you're feeling confused and conflicted and you're trying to fit yourself into a box, I would say just stop. Especially as a young person, the idea that you have to define yourself as one thing is so confining. Sexuality, queerness is fluid, be open to change, expect confusion, expect people to tell you that what you're doing, who you are, is wrong, but don't let it scare you or stop you from being or becoming who you're supposed to be.
Would you ever write music regarding other queer issues aside from writing queer love songs to broadcast a message?
I would love to write a song that explores the politics of being queer and to write about the struggles that it entails. Whatever I'm doing creatively, I'm always trying to make sure I'm not forcing anything, so I'm sure the day will come where I do explore that, whenever it naturally comes.
What are your future plans for your music? Anything to keep an eye on?
Well, I've been working on an EP for over a year now. It's been quite a long process. I've been putting material on SoundCloud and Bandcamp for a few years now but last year, I decided that I wanted to create something that would kind of solidify me as an artist, something definitive and so I started working on this EP. At the same time, I was going through a lot in my personal life: I broke up with my first boyfriend, I moved away from home, I'd ended a long-term friendship and I was beginning to find myself in this strangely transitional place in life where everything I used to have was changing or disappearing. All of the songs on this EP document that period and everything that happened. It's currently in its final stages of making and will hopefully be out sometime in September.
What are your future plans for your music? Anything to keep an eye on?
Well, I've been working on an EP for over a year now. It's been quite a long process. I've been putting material on SoundCloud and Bandcamp for a few years now but last year, I decided that I wanted to create something that would kind of solidify me as an artist, something definitive and so I started working on this EP. At the same time, I was going through a lot in my personal life: I broke up with my first boyfriend, I moved away from home, I'd ended a long-term friendship and I was beginning to find myself in this strangely transitional place in life where everything I used to have was changing or disappearing. All of the songs on this EP document that period and everything that happened. It's currently in its final stages of making and will hopefully be out sometime in September.
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| Source: @macbenson_ on Twitter |
Follow Mac on Twitter, Facebook, and Soundcloud. With an upcoming EP and a spirit that fails to dwindle, I truly believe that this is just the beginning for this budding artist. Watch this space.
