Meg Mac’s On New Album ‘It’s My Party’

ARIA #1 artist Meg Mac has released her fourth studio album It’s My Party, a vibrant and liberated body of work written and recorded between London and Los Angeles. Marking a vivid new chapter, the record finds Meg embracing creative freedom, collaboration and joy – letting instinct and play lead the way. Produced by acclaimed UK producer Bullion (known for work with Carly Rae Jepsen and Ben Howard), the eclectic alt-pop album evolved from a tightly controlled vision into something far more expansive.

To celebrate the release, Meg Mac will take It’s My Party on the road with a national theatre tour kicking off this week. Following three sold-out performances at Belvoir Street Theatre and a series of surprise pop-up bar shows revealed less than twelve hours before doors, the upcoming run promises her most intimate live experience yet. Meg shares a few words about the album.

With It’s My Party, there’s a noticeable shift in sonic palette — more electronic textures alongside your signature soul-pop roots. What inspired that evolution in your sound?
Such a different sound for me on this album and that is all Bullion!

You recorded the album across multiple studios in London and Los Angeles. How did those different recording environments influence the production choices and final mixes?
It’s hard to say because you’re the same two people stuck in a room at the end of the day but the two locations were SO different like I got off the plane in London and it was snowing and then we had a stint in LA during a heatwave. It must just add some flavour into the mix I don’t really know how but it definitely affects your mood and how you show up each day.

Your voice has always been the emotional anchor of your music. How did you approach vocal recording on this album — were you chasing a different tone or intimacy this time round?
The It’s My Party vocals would have to be my most relaxed vocal performances on an album I reckon! A lot of takes I was just sitting on the floor, I write songs on the floor a lot so this felt like it made sense. As much as it’s more electronic sounding, I think the vocals feel very natural but maybe that’s just me hearing that because I know how we did it.

Working with Bullion, did you experiment with any new production techniques, instrumentation or processes that pushed you outside your comfort zone?
He had a Digitech Vocalist VHM5 and I’m such a sucker for things like this. Once I started playing with it, it changed everything like literally songs are only on this album because of it. Most of the backing vocals were done on this and when we didn’t know what to do or got stuck we would pull it out and I would improvise on the digitech.

Outdone leans into darker, more atmospheric sonics. Can you talk about how the arrangement and production were built to support the mood of that song?
I just had a voice memo of me playing this on piano so I have no idea how Nathan created this world for it, but I love it. I think this is my favourite on the album, I wanted it to be like a chaotic kind of diary entry, a stream of consciousness style.

You’ve been road-testing new material through intimate pop-up shows. From a performer’s perspective, what do you learn about a song’s dynamics and arrangement in those stripped-back live settings?
There’s something so satisfying about turning up to a pub with an acoustic guitar and just being able to sing your songs to people. I really enjoyed doing the pop-ups, it reminded me of being at uni when I used to sing every weekend at pubs.

The upcoming theatre tour promises a more immersive audio visual experience. How closely are you involved in shaping the sound design and musical transitions for the live show?
These shows are so fun! It’s been so amazing working with Alex Berlage on directing the show, so so different to how we would prepare for a normal tour. Someone is watching and thinking about every moment. Every little detail and second is important, so much that I would never even think about.

Your catalogue spans big anthemic moments and very delicate, minimal arrangements. How do you decide, in the studio, when a song needs space versus when it needs to swell?
To be honest it’s trial and error. This is the challenge of making an album for me because everything is coming from such minimal demos. Usually a voice memo of me simply playing on the piano or on my loop pedal. They really could go in any direction so we just have to try and and see what feels good.

This album was born out of collaboration and spontaneity. How did that freer, more instinctive approach change the way you structured songs compared to earlier records?
Letting go changed everything. This was also my first time working with only one producer across the whole album so we were able to take our time and kind of just follow the road and see where it would take us. It felt like playing, not like pressure.

When fans hear these new tracks live in a theatre setting, what details in the instrumentation or vocal delivery are you most excited for them to experience up close?
It’s a really intimate show and I think it’s the stories actually, I get to tell my story more than I normally do, I get to give the songs context and present them in such a different way. I didn’t want to just stand up and sing, so I hope that it hits harder and deeper for people.

Interview By Mariam Dib

It’s My Party is out now…

On tour on the following dates, tickets HERE…