Jade MacRae

For any songwriter or performer, maintaining one’s integrity is not always so easy in the world of commercial pop music. Especially when you are classically trained in violin and piano, you have a love for old-school soul and R&B and you work primarily in an Australian market dominated by rock and pop.

“The reason I make music is like anyone else, because I love the process of writing a song; of working with my band and performing my music live. I wanted my new

album to be a true representation of me, to tell a story and hopefully show any growth as a person & musician I may have made since the first album.’

Jade has been surrounded by music, stars, studios and stages all her life.

Her parents, professional New Zealand born musicians pianist David and vocalist Joy played with all the big names of the time including Elton John, Van Morrison, Neil Sedaka, Roy Orbison, Cliff Richard, Cat Stevens, Tina Turner, and Ronnie Scott.

Jade began learning piano at age three, then violin at eight. She then gravitated to the Sydney Conservatorium of Music to do her HSC. Jade paid her way through school by singing with whoever needed a vocalist, from gigs with Renee Geyer and Disco Montego, to tours with Jimmy Barnes.

It was while singing with Jimmy Barnes that bass player and managing director of Workstation records Michael Hegerty noticed Jade’s talent, and together they worked on her self titled debut album.

Jade wrote most of the tracks on the album and co-wrote the remainder, proving herself not only an accomplished performer but a gifted songwriter as well.

The tracks soon lead to major label interest, with Roadshow Music confirming the deal in mid 2004. Jade's first album cemented her as a star on the rise in the Australian music scene, producing three top 40 singles and winning the 2006 and 2007 Urban Music Awards for Best Female Artist. Jade’s debut album was also nominated for ARIA, MTV & APRA awards in 2005/2006.

For Jade the next step was releasing her second album ‘Get Me Home’. It was a major step from the warm buzz of critical acclaim to the compromise required for a new direction musically that would satisfy herself, her fans and the dreaded yet often crucial ‘commercial interests’.

“Taking into account what you think other people want you to write can be a mistake that can ruin an artist. Ultimately however I do think my subconscious was probably affected somewhat by the very fact that I did not reach as many people as I hoped when making my first album, and I started to write an album that I guess maintained my soulful roots, but moved more into the fluid world of electronica and commercial pop.”

‘I would not swap my career for anyone’s. I hate hearing sob stories from people in the entertainment industry about how tough they have it. But anyone who thinks doing what I do is overly glamorous is just plain wrong. I do this because I love making and performing music, not because I want to see some magazine comment on what designer dress I have borrowed for an event or the latest happenings in my personal life. I want people to discover my music and hopefully fall in love with it.’

Jade currently splits her time between writing songs in Australia and overseas for major artists from around the world including the UK, France, Germany and Asia. Since the release of ‘Get Me Home’ in late 2008, Jade has also moved her base from Sydney to Melbourne.

Jade recently got engaged to local rapper Phrase and will be performing at MTV Snow Jam 2009.