McCabe has released his debut album ‘Sunset Boulevard’.
Across ten unique tracks, the album delves into themes of love, loss, ambition, madness, and paranoia.
Speaking of the album, McCabe said: “Throughout the process, the intent was to marry my love of pop music and experimental music. I threw the idea of traditional songwriting structures out of the window and chose a free-flowing, stream of consciousness approach instead, improvising many of the lyrics in the early stages and letting the song direct me rather than me directing the song.”
To celebrate the album release, McCabe shares 5 tracks that influenced ‘Sunset Boulevard’.
Marvin Gaye – Inner City Blues (Makes Me Wanna Holler)
In terms of albums, ‘What’s Going On?’ by Marvin Gaye is the most pivotal album in the whole existence of McCabe. I was listening to it non-stop through lockdown, so much, that it inspired me to make music in a similar style. I had never dabbled in soul music before this. The percussion, beat driven approach, the way Gaye uses his voice as an instrument and the technique of layering both vocally and instrumentally serve as great inspiration to my sound. All the tracks on the album have these qualities but ‘Inner City Blues is the standout influence for me.
Dean Blunt – Lush
‘Lush’ from ‘Black Metal’ is a huge inspiration due to the soaring strings in the production and the unorthodox laid back vocal delivery. Dean Blunt’s approach to music was a huge influence on ‘Sunset Boulevard’ – he works quickly and uses his instinct and a lot of improvisation. I used a similar blueprint in the creation of my songs.
Yves Tumor – Kerosene
When I first heard ‘Kerosene’ I couldn’t stop listening to it. The instrumental intro in particular really moves me. I love using long, grand intros to build emotion in my music. ‘Kerosene’ and all the songs on ‘Tumor’s Heaven To A Tortured Mind’ perfectly bridge between the pop genre and the experimental and avant-garde. Genre-wise – this is exactly what I explored in the songs for ‘Sunset Boulevard’ blurring the lines between both ends of the spectrum.
Freddie Gibbs & Madlib – Shame
‘Shame’ by Freddie Gibbs & Madlib is one of my all time favourite songs. Madlib’s soulful production – the strings and the motown backing vocals in the sample served as great inspiration for the instrumental side of many of the songs on ‘Sunset Boulevard’.
Kali Uchis – Your Teeth In My Neck
‘Your Teeth In My Neck’ is one of the many great pop songs on Kali Uchis’s debut album Isolation. The joy and fun of this song I tried to employ in many of the tracks on ‘Sunset Boulevard’. Vocally Uchis is also a big inspiration to me due to her beautiful soulful voice that is simultaneously vulnerable and powerful.
Listen to McCabe music influences:
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