How Mac DeMarco wrote and recorded an entire album in 17 days
In the early 2010s, Mac DeMarco was the name on everybody’s lips. The slacker rock star became the new darling of the indie world off the back of tracks like ‘My Kind Of Woman’, ‘Freaking Out The Neighborhood’ and ‘Chamber Of Reflection’. From then on, it’s a tale as old of time. When faced with new, booming success, an artist has a choice to make: give in to expectations or carve their own path. With 17 days and a home studio, DeMarco chose the latter.
DeMarco’s career is a fascinating one really. From the start, he fostered acclaim due to how spontaneous his songs feel. They became beloved thanks to the raw joy captured in them, whereby even the more produced and textured tracks have a distinct ease to them. He nailed the slacker rock sound perfectly, although the artist himself likes to deem his music “jizz jazz”.
It would have been very easy for him to stay the course and climb the ladder, riding the indie wave that his second and third albums, 2 and Salad Days, especially, had made him a frontrunner of. However, when it came to making Another One, his 2015 record, he made a clear statement about his talent, breadth and energy as an artist.
At his home in Far Rockaway, Queens, in a homemade studio, he spent a week writing an album. Then, a week and a half later, he recorded it. That was it: 17 days, solo and at home, where DeMarco wrote, performed, produced, and mixed the whole thing.
That alone is an astonishing task. Very few artists could exist without any help, so for DeMarco to make an album of this quality with no support at all is one thing. But to do it so far is a true testament to the power and might of his creative mind.
But the sound of the record is a whole other thing. In particular, the album’s final track, ‘My House by the Water’, becomes a clue for the kind of artist DeMarco is now. The ambient, instrumental track is built of field recordings and synths. Then, in the final moments, his signature humour and energy peek through as he seemingly reads out his address, inviting listeners round for a coffee. Supposedly, after the album came out, he had about 30 or so fans pop around.
“The way I rationalize it, to have the address you’ll have to listen to the album to the very end. Second, to even consider coming to my house, you have to be a kind of a superfan. And thirdly, it’s in such a weird part of New York that if they actually get there, they deserve a cup of coffee,” he told The Wall Street Journal about the decision, having no regrets about opening up his door.
But that combination of instrumental ambience and a palpable sense of joy and honour now leads the way for him. His latest records, Five Easy Hot Dogs and the insane 199-track record One Wayne G are both fully instrumental, made either on the road or at his home studio, intent on capturing the atmosphere of a given moment, just like ‘My House by the Water’ captures his home.
That sense of presence seems to be the theme of Another One. His decision to record the record with such a tight timeline all came down to wanting to capture feelings but not feel like he had to reveal a big grand story or share the personal ins and outs of a moment in his life. He just wanted the songs to exist as they were for him and his listeners. “I think people should be able to come along and have it mean something to them,” DeMarco told Clash. “It’s talking about all different kinds of facets of being in love, being out of love, wanting love, not wanting love. So I think that it’s not so important what they mean to me, as opposed to being there for other people to have and to enjoy, hopefully, and maybe to reflect on, or whatever.”
So with that ethos, Another One acts as a contemplation piece for listeners to ponder and for DeMarco himself to muse on his abilities without overthinking it.
