1/ So First Off - Tell Us your Name, City and Country and what you currently do for a living?
Cormac McGee - Music to Curator
I'm Cormac McGee, from Toronto, Canada. Similar to many folks in the music industry, I've got a few different gigs. I do some concert production and promotion, artist management and DJing, and help run The Music Den: An incubator for musical entrepreneurs based at Ryerson University.
2/ Is This Something You Always Wanted To Do? What Do You Enjoy About It?
Music curation is something I've always enjoyed, whether playing something while cooking breakfast or DJing in a club. The way you can move people through music is incredible — it can enhance any occasion. I love the feeling of playing the perfect song for someone in a specific moment, especially if they didn't know they wanted it.
3/ Tell Us About Your First Musical Memory - Why Do You Think You Remember It?
My first concert as a kid was The White Stripes playing an outdoor amphitheater here in Toronto. Watching Jack White command the crowd and the production spectacle going on around him, I remember thinking I wanted to be a part of that.
4/ Who Did You Make Your First Mixtape / Playlist For - What Was The Result - Did They Dig It?
In elementary school we used make mix CDs or playlists on our mp3 players (maybe iPods if we were really lucky) and compare and rank them at recess. I may have had the top playlist some days, but I definitely lost that challenge way more than I won.
5/ What Made You Go Online And Search About Music Curation?
As a DJ I'm always working on my set list, trying to make it a journey for people with different highs and lows. But for a party, there needs to be way more high tempo tracks. I wanted to find an outlet to showcase the softer songs that I think take people on an equally fascinating and emotional journey.
6/ Tell us about the name of your Playlist - where did that come from?
Catching feelings has become a meme for my generation, often a negative one. But it's not something any of us can avoid. I want to create a playlist that works for every stage of catching feelings: Whether you're driving with your partner beside you, hand in hand, or alone thinking about how terrible they were.
7/ What does a track have to have to make it onto your list, is there something special that you look for?
I was recently in a class and we were trying to identify what makes a song a "banger". It's difficult to have one standard recipe, but we all agreed when you hear a song you intrinsically know if it's a banger. It could have heavy bass drops, or just an acoustic guitar and voice, it could be an instrumental. It's less about the make up of the song and more about the impact it has on you. I like to think all the songs on my playlist are bangers.
8/ What can an artist do in their track submission to your list to ensure that you'll listen to their track?
Tell me a unique story. I have dozens of songs in my head that I already want to feature in the playlist, how are you going to stand out and make me rethink what I should include?
9/ We know - these change all the time - but as of this week - what are your all time top 5 favorite tracks.
Top 5 I'm listening to right now:
- H.E.R. — Losing (my track of the week)
- Kanye West — Big Brother
- Clean Bandit & Julia Michaels — I Miss You
- DillanPonders — SAMSON
- 10cc — Dreadlock Holiday
10/ And finally - which Music to Curator should we interview next?
I love the Dali and Jay Z concept, so Ana Clara of Music to Dali & Jay-Z Lovers