Mac Miller's Move To A Major Label Was Just "Another Cup Of Soup"

"It's really just like trying to create a planet for people to live on and inviting all your friends to come and have their own experience too, so I make the planet accessible and people come through and we have a good time," quips McCormick about GO:OD AM, his third album, but a first on a major label; one that he insists, despite going from independent label Rostrum (home to Wiz Khalifa) to Warner Bros Records, wouldn't be a point of difference for the LP.

"No, as far as creation goes, I didn't use Warner like that, I didn't use a bunch of money on stuff. I didn't want it to feel like, 'Oh he's gone to a major label so he can do this style' or whatever. I wanted to continue doing what I do. Down the road I may utilise those tools more but for me it was definitely a forum just to continue doing the same thing we always do."

"I sometimes think that limits can create some of the best environments for creativity."

Much like the last two albums, GO:OD AM saw a return of the usual suspects lined-up on the boards, some of whom he had shared with Khalifa — Benjy Grinberg, ID Labs. So, when asked how he went about building the album, and what limits, if any, he had to work around being with a major, McCormick made a meal of it.

"I think it's another cup of soup, you know? Another way of doing things. I sometimes think that limits can create some of the best environments for creativity. You know, when you give somebody a blank piece of paper it's not always going to come out better," expresses McCormick. "But, where a bunch of producers can each have free reign, they can you can get so much more interesting shit. So when you set yourself up in that way to attack your project it just becomes a different way of doing things."

The collaborations through the album made a point of difference from his catalogue, ranging from Little Dragon's Yukimi Nagano to Miguel, even to the jazzy hook of Ascension featuring sampled vocals taken from soul legend Curtis Mayfield. Still, it made for a nice fit to the Mac Miller style curated over ten-plus mixtapes and two albums. But the cinematic centrepiece to the project was his first single 100 Grandkids, something even McCormick couldn't have believed would strike the bullseye.

"I didn't, you know? When I finished recording I knew I had something special — I just don't think it was until I put the second part on that I realised that I had something different and new. You know, it's funny because it's hard to read what resonates with people so I'm still learning on that aspect. It's like throwing darts on a dartboard waiting to see what happens. So yeah, I'm glad people can relate."

He's returning to Australia early January, a first since Big Day Out '14. Why now, you may ask?

"Because I fuckin' love Australia! One of my favourite places in the world. And honestly, the time I spent there was the best time of my life so I'm looking to come down and get that again."