Mackenzie Dallas

“There’s always a tune in my head” explains Mackenzie. “I can’t help it – there’s always something there, grooving’ along in the background. Sometimes it’s something I’ve heard but often it’s something that just appears and gradually sharpens itself up. What I’m really trying to do now is bring those ideas to life as faithfully as I can. It’s hard enough just remembering them for long enough to find a guitar or a piano. Actually getting them recorded and delivering the sound that’s in my head is the real challenge.”

Mackenzie has been music mad since he was old enough to press the keys on his parent’s piano. He discovered his passion for writing and recording songs at a very early age and got to work with his first multi track recorder aged ten. He formed the first of several bands not long after that and has been making music ever since.

His non-music life also kept him busy as he gained a first class degree in mechanical engineering at Edinburgh University before moving to London. Six years later, having worked his way up to being CEO of the company he was at, building it up to a multi-million pound turnover and driving it through a successful merger (and steadily equipping his studio at the same time), he decided it was time to make his long awaited switch and ‘give up the day job’. He then moved to North Yorkshire, where he grew up, with his wife and three young children and can usually be found plugged into his studio.

So what’s his music like? Mackenzie’s creativity is fuelled by a rampant imagination, a natural technical dexterity, an obsessive attention to detail and a relentless work ethic. There is no obvious recurring style to his songs but what they all have in common is that they are truly polished from all angles. His productions usually marry two (often more) different genres and every so often create entirely new ones that are yet to be named.

When asked about his songs: “You need to listen to them a few times to really get them. Most people spend their first listen being concerned for the genres I’ve butchered. It’s only when they’ve got over this that they can appreciate the song.” This ambiguity between self deprecation and arrogance is typical of him but, in this case, it is also untrue. His attention to detail includes a healthy respect for ‘the hook’, addictive melodies and lyrics which are both relevant to all and thought provoking at the same time. This ensures that his songs are loved from the very first listen. However, he is right that they only grow on you from there.

It doesn’t matter how uncomfortable you are with the genre he may be working in at the time (and that could be anything from slow sultry jazz to strutting hard rock, sweeping orchestral arrangements to manic jungle breakbeats), his interpretation will make it accessible to you. There isn’t a singer alive today who wouldn’t shine with a Mackenzie Dallas song behind them and, luckily, it is now his life’s mission to provide them.

Having had three of his songs making it to the finalist stage of the Uk Songwriting Competition 2009 (a fantatsic achievement - finalists are the top 2% from over 6,000 entries), he has now launched his pet music project "Azrock & Pogo" that looks set to be a global name in the near future.