Hi Tara, first of all congratulations with the record deal for your very first solo album!
Thank you! It’s really, really exciting, terrifying and like a dream come true.
What can we expect from this album? How many productions are finished yet?
Well, all of this year I have been working on new music for my solo project and I think we are half way through choosing the songs for the album, as you imagine after a year’s worth of work there is a lot of material to choose from, so now I’m finishing off tracks and fine tuning. It’s difficult because as a writer you love all the songs as much as each other for different reasons as they are like your babies and of course I keep having new ideas that I like to try as well….I definitely have the first three singles…..OMG…breathe! It’s really happening!
We know that you like to keep upcoming collaborations a secret, but can you tell us some names yet? For instance the production with Nicky Romero, will that one be featured on the album?
Wow, you do your homework :D Yes we were literally in the studio together this week in Amsterdam and had been planning to do some writing days together since the beginning of the year but because I wanted to concentrate on my solo project so we decided December would be the best time to get together in the studio. I really loved being working with Nicky, he’s a very talented producer and I felt like he has this new sound that is at the cutting edge of dance music. I loved his remix for my last single with Sidney Samson called “Dynamite”, the hard sound in the break was so different that I must confess I didn’t get it at first as I was listening through my laptop speakers, it wasn’t till I was home in my little studio and turned up the speakers that I heard it as I should hear it, bold and loud. The perfect mix for a club to really get your heart jumping.
You are spending a lot of time in Paris these days, does that mean you moved there? We thought you loved the English countryside!
England is where I was born and I still ‘on paper’ live there and yes I do really love it still as I’m a country girl at heart. But now I feel like a citizen of the world rather then being just English as I spend so much time out of the UK, its true I’m always in Paris as I do a lot of business there and so now feel very at home in the city, sometimes I feel like I spend more time in the sky than on land as I’m flying so much! I would like to move to Paris in the future as I’m learning French and it’s sooooo beautiful, but I also LOVE Amsterdam, it’s the perfect city as I always feel so relaxed there.
Besides Nicky, you have worked with other Dutch stars like Sidney Samson and Afrojack. With which of the Dutch producers was it the easiest to work with?
I love Dutch people in general and have lots of lovely friends in the city now, its the same with Dutch producers. It’s funny how I met Sidney Samson as I was with Afrojack and he was filling up the car with petrol and it was at the time “Riverside” was really blowing up in the UK and I was really dying to work with him. I think it was the week of ADE and afterwards we went to go to a club together and we couldn’t get in!!!! It was so funny!! Sidney is really lovely and genuine, he’s a real sweetie, I remember him telling me that when he started making money he surprised his mum with a new car tied with a big ribbon around it (ahhhh). I call him my Dutch brother! When we wrote Dynamite we also recorded an acoustic version, a lot of people were shocked that Sidney could play the guitar, I’m really glad we made this version as it shows another side of his big talent. I have also been in the studio with Laidback Luke, it was some time ago and we still haven’t completely finished the tracks…maybe in the future, he’s an absolutely gorgeous person too, we got in touch with other after he remixed “Delirious” the track I wrote with David Guetta, his remix completely blew my mind!
Your latest release was “Pandemonium”, together with David Guetta and Afrojack. Are you happy with the feedback so far? As expected?
I was really flattered to work with David Guetta again as he can literally work with anyone in the world now, so to be thought of now really shows that he is same the same lovely David.
The track was never intended as a single and is from the FMIF Ibiza mix 2011 compilation so was never gonna get the same attention that a single would get and it’s not on his latest album as I recorded this after that was finished. But I’m really happy with how it turned out and when I perform this live people go crazy they sing the “whooooooo” so its great to have in my live set. It’s amazing to have a track with Afrojack too, I have been a big fan of his work for a long long time so getting this track with two producers that I admire put a big smile on my face.
You are getting your own radioshow on Radio FG in France soon. How are you preparing the show?
I’m so excited, this is my new excuse to listen to so much more new music and promote tracks that really inspire me. I feel like it’s a real honor to have your own show on FG as all the biggest dance producers have their own show there. The vocalists of the house scene can be overlooked by the dance music community even though we are an important part of the scene especially when it comes to taking a track to radio, but vocalists probably get a lot less respect than the DJ’s even if they write the melody and lyric of a song. So for FG to give me a weekly show is a big deal as very few singers get this kind of attention from such a well respected radio station. I can’t lie I am walking on cloud 9 right now, I have wanted to have my own radio show for a long time and when I recorded the pilot I felt so ease…I’m looking forward to being part of the chain that helps break new tracks and also I want to play some good feel good classics so you can sing along at home with me…I hope you’re gonna tune in!
We know you got a thing for stars, any additions to the tattoo on your arm you got last year?
It’s true I have got a thing for stars, it wasn’t my way of following fashion or anything, it’s because my name Tara is a traditional Irish name and means “star” so I started wearing small star stickers and designed my tattoo. I didn’t want a tattoo that someone else would have and it has a personal meaning to me. I will have other tattoo’s in the future, I want them all to be special and mark certain achievements in my life, like if I had a baby or maybe a number 1 debut album!
Any other plans for 2012? Besides your new radio show and solo album.
Of course hee hee. I’m actually starting to work on a new TV show as an assistant vocal coach for Belgium’s first series of “The Voice” in 2 days. I will be assisting the French popstar Quentin Mossiman and I’m really excited about i! There are already 14 conestants selected and I have been studying their audition tapes to see ways that I can best help them. I have been singing since I was 9 years old, first in theatre and musicals then backing singing for rock and pop bands before finding my own way into dance music so I have a lot of experience to share. Especially my tricks to get over feeling nervous and stage fright. Quentin and I will also release a record together next year which is actually my first ever duet so I’m really looking forward to that as well. And of course I’m touring after a gig in Amsterdam last night for Tommy Hilfiger, I’m now in Luxembourg for a club show here then Marrakesh tomorrow and then to Brussels for three nights for The Voice so its a busy end to the year!
I will be touring a lot next year too and would love to meet your readers! You can see all my tour dates on my website www.taramcdonald.tv or on my official facebook page http://www.facebook.com/taramcdonaldofficial and catch up with me on my networks below.
Twitter: http://twitter.com/TaraMcDonaldTV
Youtube: www.youtube.com/user/TaraMcDonaldTV
Myspace: www.myspace.com/taramcdonald
Webpage: www.taramcdonald.tv
Beatport: www.beatport.com/en-US/html/content/artist/detail/92290/tara_mcdonald
Soundcloud: http://soundcloud.com/tara-mcdonald
