Songs of Heartache and Romance: The secret love of Tuanne Mac 

In an industry crowded with "talents" marketed with the complete package, it is rare to find a genuine artist who still writes and performs from the heart. Strip away the auto-tunes and flashy production and all there is left is the singer's voice and emotions. With music, sometimes, that is all one needs.

Promising new jazz artist Tuanne Mac, of Chinese Vietnamese heritage has that package. Deriving her inspiration from the ‘old, great romantics' like Ella Fitzgerald and Anton Jobim, she has a sound compared to the likes of Norah Jones and Katie Melua and a voice to match. Rich, sensual and raw with emotions.

Tell me about your musical influences?

Well I'm really influenced by movies and old film soundtracks. I love big symphony orchestras, things that sound really grand and can really fill a room. I used to play the violin in my school orchestra and I think it struck me then just how overwhelming and beautiful an orchestra can sound.

You seem to draw a lot of inspiration from old jazz singers and musicians. What's their appeal to you?

I think it's just how relaxed they are. Its almost like the singing is accidental they have such a comfortable style and attitude. They make it look so easy like they're having a great time. I love watching people like Sammy Davis Junior or Anton Jobim - music is fun, first and foremost, they're not just singing, theyre actually living the song and really expressing their personality.

Do you remember the first jazz album that you bought?

Well, to be honest I really didnt know that much about jazz growing up. I just used to listen to my parents old Vietnamese songs playing in the background and you know these were all very French influenced. But in another way I grew up loving songs that I didn't even know were jazz, I guess most people would think of them as easy listening, people like Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee. I was a big pop fan growing up; its only as I got older I started to appreciate the more subtle, less overpowering songs that actually had a much longer appeal. I could listen to an album of Lalo Schifrin or Michel Legrand on constant repeat and never get bored whereas I probably find more immediate pop songs boring after a while.

I love the simplicity and emotions of Eva Cassidy's style and performance. She uses a lot of acoustic guitar as her sole music instrument to accompany her voice? Is that a conscious decision of yours?

I love Eva Cassidy too I'm such a big fan of hers. I think it was people like her and Jobim and Jose Feliciano that made me want to take up the guitar. I love the lushness of a band but sometimes you don't need that. When it's just you and the guitar then the song and the emotions you're feeling can come through a lot better. Sometimes less really is more. To play solo - well there's nothing to hide behind, so the song has to be good and you really have to mean it, you can't fool the listener, they can always tell.

Do you ever do covers of their songs in your set? Classics such as Songbird (Cassidy) or The Girl from Ipanema (Jobim)?

Sometimes I like to take the not so obvious songs and rework them in my own way. It's funny but in a way I'm working backwards as I wrote all my songs first and only now I'm starting to do covers. But singing and playing covers is a lot of fun, to take a classic and put your own signature on it.

Use three words to describe your music:

Cinematic, romantic and sincere

In your debut EP "My Secret Love", you compared your style to that of a black and white French film. Why this imagery?

It's because of the way I write my songs, they all come from an image I can see in my head. Songs are stories, the way pretty much all art or creation is a narrative or part of a narrative.

I think I said it was like a French film because of its romantic overtones; the French (and the Russians) always seem to live such passionate lives - and I mean passion in terms of heightened emotions rather than just the sexual passion. Everything is extreme and heightened, to love is to live, to drown in a love affair that threatens to overwhelm you, all these things you embrace because it makes you feel that you are more alive than ever.  When I write my songs I imagine I'm an ill-fated heroine playing out in a movie, like a tragic Mia Farrow.

But you also claim to love the works of Quentin Tarantino, Sergio Leone starring Sonny Chiba and Clint Eastwood! Aren't they worlds apart... from French arthouse to... err... Spaghetti Western?

I love the way they use music to accentuate the scene. Sometimes it's so effective that you almost don't need the script. I mean Sergio Leone does that a lot. He has a massive long drawn out scene where there's no dialogue going on, just Morricone on in the background. And really what more do you need? I guess my dream is to write a song for a film soundtrack, that's where I see myself going.

Would you write the song with full orchestra backing?

Well I practically did albeit on a slightly smaller scale.  I'm proud to say that all the instruments you hear on my album were real instruments - real strings and horns. Im not a fan of synths. There's a human element you can never replicate no matter how hard you try. For my album I sat down with my producer Glenn Keiles and I would sing to him the string melody that I could hear in my mind and the same with the brass. So then he would take that and incorporate it into these grand arrangements and then we would try things out with the musicians. Glenn Keiles is such a genius and so talented. He took these simple little melodies and made them into something full and grand.

Is there a favorite track from the EP?

I think the title track is very special to me - My Secret Love. It's the first track on the album so I think the listener should know pretty much straighaway what they're in for.

What was it like to record the EP and to finally have it completed?

It was like coming to the end of a very long journey, it felt great, I felt a great sense of accomplishment and am very grateful to everyone who helped me along the way. I think it's something I'll always treasure and I like to think I have written some songs that will stand the test of time (but ask me again in twenty years haha!)

So, who is your secret love(r)?

Aha well if I told you then it wouldn't be a secret! But actually the song's not biographical per se, it's more about the feeling, about a secret love for something or someone that you hold dear to you that no-one else would understand.

As a self proclaimed old-school romantic, what's the most romantic thing that has ever happen to you?

Wow gosh. I think it would have to be something really simple like randomly dropping everything and waltzing in the street with my boyfriend in front of everyone. I mean there are lots of other things but it's the little every day things that keep romance alive you know.

Surely with romance, there are heartaches and disappointments too.... how do they contribute to your music?

It's the heartaches and disappointments that I live for. I think I'm a sucker for pain and heartache. I actually kind of like it, I must be some kind of masochist. I can get carried away quite easily by my emotions, I'm a bit more stable now but when I'm writing a song I try and tap into those emotions and let them run free.

What do you think of the current pop music?

Erm... well, no ones writing anything that I would want to hear again in twenty years put it that way. But that's not to say I don't like pop. I love pop, especially good pop but to me there's nothing exciting out there, it's all kind of obvious and I prefer mystery or something that holds itself back a little. 

If you went on "X Factor", what do you think Simon Cowell would say to you?

I really don't know. And to be honest I really wouldn't care. These things are just marketing tools. They're not about real music or making music that lasts. These shows aren't about creating artists.  I mean you can't just create an artist. No one ‘created' Anton Jobim or Eva Cassidy. These are lifelong artists who you grow up with and you listen to your whole life. 

What's on the horizon for Tuanne Mac?

Well, I'm doing showcases with my band in the New Year and I'm writing new material all the time. There are some record labels interested so I'm really excited about that but I'm more just concentrating on putting together a great show. I'm also thinking about buying a semi-acoustic electric jazz guitar, I have 9 guitars already but I'd like to try out a new sound so we'll see how that goes.

9 guitars!! Surely, there is a story behind each one? Do you have a favourite?

Well the very first one I got - its pink with black butterfly motifs, its really girly I have to confess but it was the very first guitar I ever had so it has a special place for me. I wrote half of my songs from my album on it.

What can the audience expect from your gigs?

Intimacy

Is there a motto that you live by?

I live my life in technicolor.

My Secret Love EP available on CD and Digital Download at www.tuannemac.com

Tuanne Mac will be performing at the Dimsum event Jazz and Opulence on 26^th November at MAYA. Supporting local East Asian artists, Dimsum partners with CMC Markets and China Ethos, providing a stage for promising new artists to showcase their talents.