 "Photo: Photo courtesy of Annie Mac")
Annie mac is a very busy person these days.
Besides hosting the nationally broadcast UK program “Annie Mac’s Mash Up” on BBC Radio 1, she also hosts “Switch” with Nick Grimshaw, aka Grimmy, a radio program geared toward teenagers.
The former program is her calling card — an eclectic mix of underground electronica. And if that weren’t enough, Mac is currently embarking on an autumn tour that will whisk her around the States, where she will spin her favorite tracks.
Besides being a music tastemaker, Annie has an incredible knack for championing genres nearly unheard of in the U.S. — UK funky, dubstep and sublo, for example — that get much attention in the culturally accelerated boroughs of England.
“The great thing about the UK is there’s a new subgenre every month. It’s nonstop fusion,” Mac said. “The producers here are really open-minded because the UK, especially London, is so multicultural you have producers taking from everything: reggae, soul, techno, disco. This results in grime and sublo and garage and funky and dubstep and fidget.”
Recently, Skream and Benga, two bastions of the dubstep genre, graced Austin with their presence. The venue was packed to the brim with newcomers to the scene, which was surprising given dubstep’s relativly small following just a few years ago. Mac asserted that a lot of the genre’s popularity is left up to chance.
“You never know what’s going to happen; one record can change everything,” Mac said about the recent popularity of dubstep. “Skream’s remix of La Roux’s ‘In for the Kill’ brought dubstep to the mainstream and in the UK — I don’t think anyone saw that coming.”
But don’t assume Mac is a one-trick pony. Though she is fond of the new genres, electro fans of every kind will surely find satisfaction in her mixes.
“I’m going to play all over the place — my usual set is electro, house, disco and a little bit of funky. Then some dubstep and drum & bass at the end,” Mac said. “I’d like to say I’ll be playing all this stuff, but a lot depends on the night and what I think the crowds are into.”
DT Weekend asked Mac what the future of radio music looked like with the advent of MP3 blogs, torrents and file sharing. Mac was incredibly optimistic about what could be done to save radio media.
“Easy. Podcasts. They’re the future. Listening to radio in your own time is the future,” she said. “There’s still something to be said for listening to a personally created selection of music, and there’s still a lot to be said for personality radio if you can fuse a charismatic voice with a great music selection that is still totally relevant and desirable. At least I hope so, anyway!”
Though this is only her second visit to Austin ever, Annie Mac already has plans in the works for her leisure.
“I’ve only been once before, for South by Southwest,” Mac said. “I’m rolling with my sister — she’s pregnant — so I reckon we’ll be sampling the amazing food!”
WHAT: Learning Secrets Presents: Annie Mac
WHEN: Saturday, 10 p.m.
WHERE: Barcelona,
209 E. Sixth St.
TICKETS: $10 door, $7 with RSVP
rsvp@learningsecretsmusic.com with ‘Annie Mac’ in the subject
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