Return of the Mac

Arguably one of the more recognisable voices on UK radio right now, Dublin DJ Annie Mac has been steadily carving a career as among the most respected and best loved taste-makers on the scene. At time of writing, the BBC Radio One presenter's latest compilation, Annie Mac Presents... 2013, has been slaying the competitors in charts across Europe. When we caught up with the local lady made good, she tells us she's suitably chuffed with the release's success.

“It’s really nice that people are into it and excited by it,” she beams. “I feel delighted. The thing that matters is that they’re enjoying it. We’ve been doing this over the last five or six years and it’s nice that it’s built an audience who trust in what we do and have faith in our choices and selections. I guess that’s what it’s all about. You want to be someone who’s believable and about whom people can go, ‘I don’t know what to buy this year, I like going clubbing but I don’t want to buy 27 different things.’ People trusting in what I do is all I’ve ever wanted and having the radio show helps that as well.”
Featuring dance and hip hop acts such as Disclosure, A$AP Rocky, Jessie Ware and more, Annie tells us that when it comes time to put together her yearly mix, there’s no scientific approach to choosing who makes the cut.
“I pick what I like. I’d love to tell you it’s more sophisticated than that. It’s not. My job is to choose music on a weekly basis for my radio show and for my gigs. I pick out the ones I think are really good and work well in the mix and also ones that will stand the test of time. You want material that actually feels like more than a passing club track. You want tunes that speak to the overall sound of the year, tunes that are future classics.
“I like them all but there’s some that I’m really chuffed that I got on there,” she continues. “I’m really happy I got on ‘Adorn’ by Miguel. It’s a really important tune for 2013. Also, A$AP Rocky’s ‘Fashion Killer’ is a stand-out. It means a lot to have that hip hop element on [the record]. I love Shy FX too. It really sticks out. It’s really different.”
Fifth in the series, Annie Mac Presents... 2013 was made while she was having a break from DJ-ing and the presenter (and now new mam) admits she was initially concerned her time away might impact on her mixing skills.
“I was really happy with last year’s compilation and how it worked as a DJ mix and a journey,” begins Annie. “The reason it works well is because I was DJ-ing so much. I had little mixes and transitions worked out from the sets that I did. I was able to transfer them onto the comp. This year, I hadn’t been DJ-ing quite as much, especially over the summer as I was on maternity leave. That’s when I was mixing the comp. I didn’t have any fresh DJ gigs to take from, so I was a little bit worried. It turned out well in the end.
Outside her UK work, Annie will be fondly remembered by many Hot Press readers as a former presenter of RTÉ's Other Voices. She tells us she adored her time on the show.
“Not only did it give me an opportunity to get back to Ireland and to Dingle, but I also got to work in a professional capacity at home with Irish people. It kept me really up to date with Irish music too. Due to the show, I'm now a massive fan of people like James Vincent McMorrow and Mmoths. He's someone I had on my compilation last year and he's awesome.
“You know, Ireland will always be home,” she concludes. “I love going back to Dublin with my partner, heading into town to proper old pubs, like the Long Hall and the Stag’s Head and just showing him all my favourite parts of the city. It’s my favourite thing to do.”

Annie Mac Presents... 2013 is out now. She DJs at the Academy, Dublin alongside special guests on November 30