Jamie McDell

Hey Jamie! Massive congratulations on everything that you’ve achieved so far. You’ve already done so much in what seems such a little amount of time. Can you pick out any particular events or moments that have really stood out for you so far...?

For me whether it did well or not, I was really proud to have recorded an album. "Six Strings and a Sailboat" is made up of songs I’d written at 16 to songs I’d written at 19 so it’s a real mixture of my life and I’m really proud of it because its all me. Every single song on that album has come from some experience in my life and it’s really cool to see people relate to it. So yeah having the album in my hands was really a proud moment that stood out for me thus far.

I understand that you’re currently at university doing a degree in graphic design. How’s this going? Is it easy to juggle music with uni work...?

I really do love graphic design, obviously music is my passion but I think in the music industry now days, as it’s not only about your music but the image and persona you’re getting across to people, music and design actually often work together. It’s great that I study it as it means I have a lot of control over the way I’m being perceived and what kinds of images and things I want to get out there. It can be busy but I definitely know that I need to live life and have stories to tell to be able to write songs so being at university is a whole other story and whole other song.

I bet you get a lot of inspiration for songs from uni...

As I was saying it’s definitely a place full of stories! I love writing about people and issues they might be going though when I feel like sometimes I’m not experiencing things myself. Uni is a great place to find people with stories so I love it for that.

I’ve heard you talk about getting inspiration from ALL sorts of things. What’s the most random thing you’ve ever considered writing a song about..?

Man there’s been so many things! A few would be papercuts, outdoor showers, mentos all sorts of weird things that I turn into metaphors. For example the song I wrote inspired by a papercut was all about how small things can actually hurt the most.

Can we get an example of some lyrics...?

Song: Papercut- ‘My dear, when there’s nothing left to show for all these tears, a papercut, those little things that can effect so much’

Which song do you wish you’d written...?

Country Roads by John Denver. Absolute country classic.

I only recently realised that... "I have a small scar on my lower back-not sure what from."

Once I accidentally..."U-turned into my friends car. It was awkward."

What kind of opportunities has the success of the album brought about?

There’s been many opportunities that have come up after the release of the album but a couple that are very important to me. The more my platform as an artist grows slowly the more I get the opportunity to influence and educate people on the things I’m passionate about. I have a great passion for the ocean and feel slightly protective of its creatures so I’ve loved being involved and getting people aware of various conservation projects that help put an end to shark finning and over fishing. I also had the opportunity to work with a great organisation called Global Citizen, where I was able to write a song and play at a concert raising funds for extreme poverty. Really rewarding experiences that I was very grateful to be involved in. Not to go on too much but I also was lucky enough to be named as an ambassador for Surf Life Saving NZ another organisation I love and am so happy to be involved in.

Have you been able to travel...? Europe, the US - or is that all still to come?

Only over to Australia, for me it’s really just the beginning and it’s important to me to take the right steps and build up slowly in this industry. Try and do things the right way I guess, the less the rush the more I become confident in who I am. It’s always going to be about the songwriting and music making so as long as I can do that I’m happy doing it anywhere. – as long as there’s some surf!

I know for sure the UK would welcome you with open arms, too many of our artists have left us and gone stateside. Is that something you could see yourself doing, trying to make it work in America?

Oh thank you! Well I guess like I said I’m really not too fussed where it takes me as long as I’m still having fun doing it and staying true to myself. I do have that motivation to connect with a wider audience but I feel like its more so I can create awareness around marine conservation if I’m being honest!

You’re friends with Jamie Curry (...that girl is hilarious) and have even pretty much “collaborated” with her (Nemo Song). Is there anyone else out there who you’d love the chance to make a bit of music with...?

There are plenty of great musicians I would love to collab with, Jack Johnson, Ben Harper and Jimmy Buffett being the dream collaborations!

YouTube and other social media sites really helped you get your name out there, do you follow any up-and-coming artists...? And are there any that you think should be brought to our attention...?

I definitely think social media was a great way for me to get my stuff out there, especially youtube because it allows me to show people more about who I am and explain the stories behind my songs which I really love to do. I’m really loving this guy called Thomas Oliver at the moment, he’s got some cool acoustic session videos on youtube and he’s amazing at slide guitar. Also a ginger guy called Sam Allen writes somre real beautiful stuff too, just really genuine singer/songwriter vibes!

And if you could give them a word of advice?

I think social media often comes down to being interesting and being consistent so its just making sure you’re often uploading videos and being active and making sure you’re showing people what it is that special about you.

It really annoys me when...

"My friends send me pictures of themselves at the beach when I’m not there, but I guess I do that to them!"

What do you think the biggest misconception about singer-songwriters is...?

Well I can’t speak for all singer/songwriters but I think it’s sometimes that we take ourselves really seriously when in fact most of the ones I’ve gotten to know are always joking around and taking the micky out of themselves and most of the time its on stage! I think a lot of our inspiration comes from our own experiences so we’re always really invested in the work we’re creating but that doesn’t mean we’re serious all the time, not at all.

Is there any part of this career path that intimidates you? Do you feel there’s any pressure? And would you welcome the idea of global fame (...if it came to that)?

I guess I’ve got a pretty strong idea of what's important to me and why I’m doing this, at the end of the day I’m absolutely grateful even to be able to write songs. It’s what gets me through life, part of who I am so it’s hard for me sometimes to look at it as a career. With my mindset like that it means it’s virtually impossible for me to feel intimated or to feel pressure, because I’m really not writing songs because someones told me to or because I need someone to listen to them, I’m writing songs because that's just what I do. I don’t know what I think about ‘fame’ because to me when I think of someone famous I imagine people like Bob Marley, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, people that have really made an impact not only in music but in society. I suppose because that's what I see as being famous the idea of it almost just seems too huge for me. I will always try to make the most out of my opportunities so if it ever got to that well I’d just have to take a real big deep breath and take it all in.

**If you did become epically famous...what would you do differently (...to those currently in the limelight)...?**

It’s definitely hard to even imagine what it would be like to get to that stage. With the small fanbase I have now I’ve been able to discover the way my actions influence those listening to my music and watching what I’m doing. I think some important things for me revolve around just staying true to who I am. So simple things like not wearing a lot of make up, dressing the way I want to, writing my own songs, taking time to reply to my fans, things that might seem small but can really have a huge influence over the younger generation looking up to you.

One of my hidden talents is...

"I can make my voice sound like an Opera singer."

In an ideal situation...where do you see yourself in 2 or 3 years time?

Honestly? Tied up to a marina in Greece on my 40ft sailing yacht writing songs for my 5th album inspired by my stories of living on the sea.

And finally, what’s up next? What can we be expecting...?

Up next I’m getting into the studio and recording my second album which I’m really excited about. There will hopefully be a single and video released in October so keep an eye out for that! And then basically just playing heaps of shows over summer and hopefully getting some beach time in along the way.

Thanks for chatting to us Jamie, best of luck for everything to come and hopefully catch a gig of yours soon!

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What saddens me most about Jamie McDell is how little she is known to the people of the Northern Hemisphere. She is so refreshingly talented that I'm embarassed to admit I sometimes scour the likes of X Factor for talent. Not only is she beautiful and quirky, her voice is posessively melodic . . . which seems to go hand in hand with songs that she writes all by herself; something we don't see a lot of these days. A surfer dude at heart, she likes the simpler things in life. So hand this girl a guitar, leave her on a beach and let her do her thing...