EXCLUSIVE: Jade MacRae Is Back In A Very Big Way

Jade MacRae has reigned as Australia's Queen of R&B since the early 2000s. The Sydney singer, songwriter and musician released two urban-pop albums, impressively collaborating with the US super-producer Warryn "Baby Dubb" Campbell prior to Kanye West. Then, in 2012, she pioneered a modish homegrown electro-soul with her vehicle Dune. In recent times, MacRae has been lowkey, but that's about to change. She's returning to the spotlight with a classic soul album.

This year the Sydney destination festival Vivid LIVE has a major R&B attraction in Teyana Taylor – the Harlem star, down with West's GOOD Music, known for her throwback '90s aesthetic. Meanwhile, MacRae will be previewing LP material as part of a Vivid festival-within-a-festival, Women In Music, in the cosy Ziggy's Barber Salon on 1 June. Eager to chat, MacRae calls OG Flavas from Germany, where she's touring as a backing vocalist for the American blues guitarist Joe Bonamassa (she also sings on his latest album, Redemption.) "It's a great gig," MacRae enthuses. "We're going to some incredible places and playing some pretty amazing shows. I'm really seeing the world in a special way. So it's a lot of fun. But it does mean it's quite a challenge for me at the moment when I'm trying to get my own new record out into the world. It's a lot to manage the whole thing. The touring is almost full-time in itself." A dedicated MacRae, simultaneously morning lark and night owl, has spent the morning preparing string arrangements for her Vivid set.

A New Queen Of Australian R&B

The history of the Australian R&B scene is routinely neglected, even being marginalised by hip hop. Nonetheless, in the '90s, the New Jack Swing group Kulcha, harmony quartet CDB, and hip hop soul trailblazer Christine Anu all crossed into the pop charts. Marcia Hines' R&B divette daughter Deni, unusually influenced by UK R&B, had success both here and in Europe. Australian R&B acts have always been partial to covers, yet Hines raised eyebrows – and defied rock purists – with her smooth take on 10cc's retro-rock I'm Not In Love.

MacRae was born in the UK to New Zealander parents, but grew up in Sydney. MacRae's father, Dave, is a renowned keyboardist who, awesomely, served as music director for the cult British comedy series The Goodies, and her mother, Joy Yates, is a vocalist. Initially, MacRae emulated her instrumentalist father, learning piano and violin. While attending the Sydney Conservatorium Of Music, she discovered her singing voice, studying jazz. MacRae launched her professional career as a singer-for-hire, booked by the likes of Mahalia Barnes and her dad, Jimmy. Signing to Roadshow Entertainment, she premiered auspiciously in 2004 with You Make Me Weak – co-produced by another future Oz R&B star, Israel Cruz. MacRae stunned with her Mary J Blige vibes.

Beginning in the late '80s, US urban music became as much about the producer as the artist. Among the studio identities MacRae liaised with on 2005's slick eponymous debut was the American hitmaker Warryn Campbell – whose discography spanned Brandy and the urban contemporary gospel duo Mary Mary. He guided MacRae's song All My Love. "I was really fortunate to be flown over to America a number of times to work with some different producers over there," MacRae recalls. "But working with [Campbell] was probably the most exciting, I think, because obviously he had a very close relationship with Mary Mary and a very intimate knowledge of female R&B vocal, gospel vocal [styles]. We just had a ball when we were in the studio. I think he found me to be quite a novelty because he hadn't ever met any Australians, or worked with any Australians, at that point. He found me kinda quirky and different, 'cause Americans do find us quirky and different – 'cause we are. But we had a great time. He's an amazing musician. I learned a lot in the session. I was pretty young and inexperienced at that point. So I'd love to work with someone like that now again, 'cause I'd actually just know what I'm doing these days! But it was great. He was really kind to me and very encouraging." Campbell subsequently connected with Yeezy. MacRae received three ARIA noms. 

Between albums, MacRae consolidated her public profile by competing on the music reality show It Takes Two. In fact, she shot a buzz video for 2007's single In The Basement with her It Takes Two duets partner, actor Bob Morley – presently playing Bellamy Blake in The CW's sci-fi series The 100. Still, MacRae's second album, Get Me Home, was significantly delayed, slowing her ascent. 

Even in the 2000s, Australian R&B acts faced cultural obstacles. Record labels were unclear how to market homegrown urban music. Radio was not receptive either – with commercial programmers deeming R&B as 'niche' and triple j dismissing it as pop. What's more, the artists encountered a latent cultural cringe with domestic listeners favouring US music. "It was definitely not an easy time to be a new artist, that's for sure," MacRae sighs. "I did feel that I was trying to do something different. I mean, I wasn't the only one. But I think I was one of the only ones who managed to get a little bit of momentum with what I was doing. So it sort of felt as if I was definitely in the minority. There was absolutely a stigma at that time – you know, a major preference towards American R&B and hip hop and a little bit of a backlash against the local scene. But I will say that, within the scene itself, there was a lot of support for other artists – particularly in the hip hop scene, even back then… But I think that's an Australian cultural default as well – it's like we need people to prove themselves to us, instead of giving our immediate support." Ironically, the popularity of reality music TV would be a gamechanger, providing a platform for Guy Sebastian, Jessica Mauboy and Timomatic. 

Jade MacRae, Dance Diva?

Versatile, MacRae generated a glowing rep in dance music circles. Well before Kelly Rowland jumped on David Guetta's 2009 mega-hit When Love Takes Over, MacRae was quietly working alongside dance-types. In the '90s, brothers Dennis and Darren Dowlut formed the Melbourne R&B combo Kaylan, which then morphed into Disco Montego, as they put a soulful twist to the filtered house trend. MacRae guested prominently on 2002's blockbuster Disco Montego album, together with an emerging Daniel Merriweather. Two years on, MacRae (and the veteran Dannielle Gaha) savoured an underground hit with the German house DJ/producer Ian Pooley in Heaven. "I wouldn't say [the opportunity to collaborate with dance acts] was something that I was actively seeking out, but there's a long history of electronic music that features soulful vocals, so it's a well-known partnership," she says. "So all of those things came to me, but it was always a good fit and a fun sort of side-step. It was not really ever my focus, but I always enjoyed collaborating – especially with people who were pushing the boundaries a little bit and doing things a bit differently."

The Arrival Of Avant 'N' B With Dune

Towards the late 2000s, MacRae fell into an urban music 'It' celebrity coupling with Melbourne rapper Phrase (aka Harley Webster) – wedding in 2010. She contributed to Webster's third album, Babylon. And MacRae herself diversified. Notably, she supplied vocals for Miranda Tapsell's character Cynthia in the movie The Sapphires. In 2012, a now independent MacRae staged a bold reinvention as the mysterious avant 'n' B auteur Dune, airing the blogable bop Shoestring. She followed with an EP, Oh Innocence, its title-track adeptly remixed by Client Liaison. MacRae branded Dune "experimental pop". "I had a really interesting time with that project. That was something where I just put no restrictions on myself; no boundaries. I guess it was wanting to do something that was less mainstream musically; a little bit more experimental. I mean, it wasn't exactly groundbreaking, but I think it was, for me, a little bit different. I loved exploring the analogue synth world and getting to know all those instruments more deeply. Songwriting-wise, I tried to push myself into the abstract a little bit more."

MacRae performed her inaugural national headline shows and appeared at the UK's Great Escape Festival. However, she was too ahead of her time with Dune – and it slipped through the mainstream cracks. Ultimately, MacRae abandoned Dune after her marriage ended. "That project had always been, not a collaboration, but so much supported by my ex-husband Harley. So, when we split up, I felt that I couldn't keep pursuing that. I'm not sure that I'll pick it up again. In terms of the music itself, I really enjoyed the space that it took me into, but I'm not sure if I'll revisit that under that name. I might go back in that direction, but under a new title or something like that maybe in the future."

Jade MacRae, Soul Sister

Today the Australian R&B movement is surging, with global fans. There are acclaimed neo-soul acts such as the twice Grammy-nominated Hiatus Kaiyote, Ruel and KAIIT. Then we have electro 'n' B creatives like Oscar Key Sung, OKENYO and SAYAH (MacRae's Sydney opener). "I'm so encouraged and excited by the scene that really is starting to flourish in Australia," MacRae says. Coincidentally, her old Disco Montego cohort Dennis is now circulating electro-soul as Deutsch Duke. "I always hope that maybe we might collaborate one day again – we've spoken about it a few times." In contrast, MacRae is embracing her roots in vintage soul. "I've literally just finished making a straight-up soul album," she reveals. "It's been a long time for me in the return to making soul music and I'm feeling like it's a bit of a homecoming. What I've just created feels like the album that I really wanted to make my whole life but, for various reasons, I had never got to it and now I feel like I've kinda come home to it. It's a good feeling."

MacRae resumed writing while on the road with Bonamassa last year. "I'd been through a really troubled time in my life: my marriage broke down, I got divorced. My whole world got turned upside down, basically. I ended up taking this touring gig that I'm currently doing as a means of trying to restart my life. I just felt, for a long time, I couldn't actually write any music. I felt a little bit sort of traumatised by everything that had gone on. It was just all a little bit too raw. But, eventually, I got to a place where it felt good to write and it felt cathartic… So, given the nature of how I was feeling, heartbroken and whatnot, some pretty soulful songs came out of that."

MacRae has cut the as-yet-untitled album organically as a band – and live to tape. She's recruited local musicians – including her parents, whose legacy informed the sonic moodboard. Indeed, MacRae's references are not Amy Winehouse and Adele, but soul greats like Aretha Franklin. "I decided the direction of the album was gonna be deeply-rooted in '50s R&B and drawing from artists like Sam Cooke, Dinah Washington; obviously venturing into Aretha territory…," she elaborates. "It really does pay homage to the music that influenced me the most from when I first started singing."

MacRae will issue the lead single in August. In the interim, she's sharing snippets of ballads and stompers on her site. And she'll perform songs at Ziggy's. "I'm presenting all the music from my new record. I have a really great line-up of young female musicians from Sydney and Melbourne. It's gonna be a stripped-back, acoustic approach to the music." MacRae will have a "special guest", too, in Karen Lee Andrews, the former Ms Murphy latterly styling herself as "Oceanic blues". 

Happily, for those outside of Sydney FOMOing, MacRae is planning other dates – with Melbourne a possibility in September. "I'm just excited about the new project and getting my new music out there in the world," she says. "I'm trying to carve out, I guess, the next chapter of my career. I feel like for the first time I'm really doing it on my own terms. It's a brutal amount of work, but it's also super-fulfilling. When you feel like you're in the right place at the right time, there's an enormous sense of peace in that. So, even though I'm exhausted, it's a good 'tired'. I'm excited to actually get the music out there in the world so I can start playing more shows live and bringing it to the people."