I had the chance to chat with rising house/techno DJ Mac of the collective “The Bridge.” Mac has been around music their whole life from their fathers eclectic rock influence and their mother putting them into violin lessons at the age of four they’ve been surrounded by many sounds. Now pursuing music in their own fashion, Mac has been DJing for a few years with their collective forming in late 2022. Intrigued by the works of industry legends such as Joyryde or the experimental sounds of Kaytranada, they’ve found a unique lane to pursue individually. I’m so glad I got a chance to speak with Mac firsthand and you’ll find our conversation below to be of much interest!

Where are you from, what was it like growing up there? How do you think this has influenced your music?

I was born in Chicago. My Mom is Cameroonian and my Dad, Irish. When I was nine, my dad started working with the Peace Corps again and we moved to Lesotho in South Africa. Then, Kenya when I was twelve. I graduated high school there. I consider my home a few different places.

When I was young, it was really hard. I wanted stability and to make friends. I had some resentment for it at the time. Now, as an adult, time has passed and I'm so grateful that I went to international schools where there were over 100 nationalities. It had a huge influence on my music taste and perception of the world.

Were you always interested in music? What kinds of artists or genre’s inspired you?

My dad was in a garage band with his college roommates, and was always passionate about my “classic rock education” as he would call it. There was always music playing in the house! When I was four, my mom put me in violin [lessons], and I played around with other instruments like viola and guitar. I was mainly an orchestra kid, so also clarinet and flute. I was consistently playing music. By the time I went high school ,we did the IB program, and I did higher level music, learning music theory and composition.

When was the first time you decided you wanted to take music really seriously?

Well, I started off at USC as a Human Biology Major–which didn’t last long. Half way through my sophomore year, I switched to international relations which I graduated with last year! I also saw that there was a music industry program at USC, so I did that as a minor. When I started taking these music industry classes, I had never met so many people who were passionate about music and actually in it. I was like, ‘Holy shit people actually do this! And they're good at it, and it's working!’ That was the shift from music as a hobby to doing this as a career.

What was the transition into DJing?

Growing up I was an instrumentalist. It wasn’t made to be something I could pursue seriously. I would fiddle around on the guitar or piano, but as I was in college longer, I developed a strong passion for house music. In the summer of 2021, my roommate bought her girlfriend a deck for her birthday and it was the perfect way to translate my love for music into something more tangible.

When did your collective form? What’s that dynamic like?

Our collective is The Bridg. That started in, like, September–it was super recent! Earnie and I had been friends for years, but at the beginning of 2022, there was this Black Student Association formed and Earnie and Anastazja started DJing all these parties. I was like, ‘I need to get in contact.’ Anastazja asked me to go to the studio with her and Earnie and after the session, we were like ‘holy shit what just happened?’ We have such different styles and we never blended together before but it sounded so good! Then Earnie’s friend from highschool Irving met up with us and we made a groupchat talking non-stop sending each other songs so we just ran with it right off the bat! Here we are now. We have a show together tomorrow and are planning one in May!

Have you put on any live shows or sets yourself as a collective?

Our first show all together was in November for a friends event. It was a two-hour long opening set and it was crazy, that really set it off for us! We were like we’re gonna fucking do this now! It was at this club that we love going to already but it was packed out and people were coming up to us after and we realized people really messed with it.

Since then, it’s been hard now that we’re trying to do this as a group. Our main barrier is communication since we’re all managing our individual careers as well. We have a show tomorrow night, and have one early May. But, individually, we have sets, like, every week.

What are some of the most enjoyable parts of being involved in the music scene that you’re in?

I think my absolute favorite thing is getting to do this with people that I love so much! It’s by far what I'm most grateful for. It's one thing seeing people start to respect what you do, but none of it means anything unless I'm there with my friends. I'm really so lucky to have the people around me that I do! People that are so encouraging and supportive and always show out no matter what they have going on. You never feel loved more than when people make time to see you do something that you love.

Where can people listen to your music? Are you planning to release anything soon?

I have a link to my Soundcloud in my Instagram bio so that's probably the easiest way! I have a few mixes on Soundcloud now but definitely plan to put some more out soon. I’ve been getting into production myself which is more of a disco house type of vibe which will be out eventually.

What’s your dream collaboration in music, artist or DJ?

I have a few! My favorite DJ/Producer is Joyryde he’s just incredible he’s such an OG in the industry and he was one of the first DJs that I listened to where I was like omg EDM isn’t just *boom boo* at a frat house. He incorporates everything into his sound, orchestras, opera, rap, house, dubstep all into one song. It’s a cohesive journey he takes you on, and incorporates everything! Kaytranada would be sick, and I love George Reid of AlunaGeorge; he does the toplines for a lot of popular house songs.

Do you have an ideal venue or festival you’d like to play?

Honestly, one of my favorite events is HARD summer and any, like, insomniac event would be crazy. That was the thing that really brought me into this, so it would be a cool full circle moment! Of course I'd love to do a Boiler Room! I think those two, for sure.

I hope you enjoyed getting to know Mac as much as I did, be sure to follow along on socials and check out their current mixes on Soundcloud! Keep an eye on The Bridge in its entirety, there’s a lot of talent in these individuals.