MNZ Interview: MACEY

There is something special about interviewing an artist you’ve known, even from afar, for years. My earliest memory of Macey goes back to our school days, watching him perform as my sister’s husband in Suessical. I was about 12 years old at the time, and even then it was obvious that performing came naturally to him. Macey was always that guy everyone looked up to, talent in abundance. I remember sitting on the cold wooden floor in our school gym listening to him perform. Looking back on those early years, Macey says music was always part of his life. Growing up with a musician father meant music was constantly around him, and from a young age he was singing for anyone who would listen. Laughing, he admits that even if people didn’t always want to hear him, he was determined to perform anyway. Now, years later, Macey is preparing to release his highly anticipated second album, Once, and return to the headline stage for the first time in more than three years.

Much of Once was born thousands of kilometres from home during a transformative period living in London. It was Macey’s first experience in a city of that scale, couch surfing, hustling to find collaborators, and navigating one of the world’s busiest creative hubs. “Lots of the songs came from riding the Tube,” he explains. “Just observing people, listening to conversations and taking everything in.” The move had a profound effect on both his songwriting and creativity. While life back home can sometimes feel predictable and mundane, London provided endless inspiration. “As soon as I landed there was inspiration everywhere,” he says. “It felt like creativity was flowing constantly.” The result is an album that Macey believes could only have been written in London. Songs such as We Still Happened, Mona Lisa Money and Clementine capture snapshots of people, places and emotions gathered during that time.

One of the album’s standout singles, We Still Happened, has already resonated strongly with listeners. Macey lights up when discussing the response the song has received. “Thank you so much,” he says when told how well the track has connected. “I really wanted to create a stadium banger – something people could sing together.” The song carries a simple but powerful message: regardless of how things end, what matters is that those moments existed. “No matter what happens, we still happened.” While Once explores new creative territory, it also represents a significant personal shift. Macey reflects on how different this chapter feels compared to his previous album, which was heavily shaped by the grief of losing his father. “That was a really difficult time,” he says. Three years later, he feels older, wiser and far more secure in himself as both a person and an artist.

“I feel the most ready I’ve ever been.” That confidence is carrying into his upcoming headline show at Auckland’s Tuning Fork on July 3. Rather than relying on modern production tricks, Macey is intentionally stripping things back. “There’ll be no in-ears, no backing tracks. Just me and the audience.” It’s an approach that reflects the authenticity at the heart of Once and one he is genuinely excited about.

The album’s title went through several iterations before finally settling on Once. At one stage, Macey considered naming the record Everything and Nothing after a conversation with a friend during a particularly stressful period of writing. Eventually, however, he returned to Once – the title of another song on the album and the track he is most excited to perform live. As one of the artists selected for Live Nation’s Next On programme, Macey is also receiving recognition from one of the biggest names in live entertainment. “It’s really nice to be seen and recognised,” he says.

For emerging artists across New Zealand and Australia, he believes opportunities like Next On are invaluable. “Being an artist is hard, and it’s hard to be seen. It’s really nice that they’re supporting artists like us.” When discussing his songwriting, Macey repeatedly returns to the idea of storytelling and connection. He wants listeners to feel like they can step inside his songs and find pieces of themselves there. “This isn’t background music,” he says proudly. “It’s music to listen to, live in and feel.” It’s the kind of music designed for late-night drives, windows down, singing every word at the top of your lungs.

Reflecting on the journey from school productions to releasing his second album, Macey says he’d tell his younger self not to take life quite so seriously.

“I’d give him a big hug and tell him to enjoy it.” While he admits he’s made plenty of mistakes along the way, he wouldn’t change any of them. “They shaped who I am.”

As Once prepares to make its way into the world, Macey’s hopes are simple.

“I hope people like it,” he says. “I hope they really connect with it.”