Interview: Megan McGee - "Tears"
- nelsimone
- Aug 16, 2021
- 9 min read
Happy Women's Month ~ August 2021!
I am so excited to share this very exclusive and incredible recent first Interview with talented young South African🇿🇦 vocalist - Megan McGee. It includes so many interesting highlights on the filming of the upcoming "Proud Flesh" International Sony Documentary [available later in August 2021 - preview/trailer link below] and a ton of amazing background information on her latest release, "Tears", plus a few special scoops too:
>Who are some of your Role Models (South African and/or other)?
My ultimate Role Model is Jesus; he is the ultimate person – an example of living your life unapologetically right without being scared to live it that way but also being extremely loving.
>How do you experience life as a young South African?
Experiencing life is a weird mysterious thing, but thankfully God answers a lot of our questions. I have never been specifically patriotic, but I felt more patriotic after I experienced a bit of life overseas – how I feel has changed a lot since being overseas. I am proud to be a South African, and I’m proud of our culture that we are strong and warm people. We can also be hard-headed, stubborn, and I like that we are questioning and we don’t give up – ‘n Boer maak ‘n plan.
>Where do you draw inspiration from?
God/Jesus, family and friends – I am encouraged and inspired by them. Musically – I draw from my (own) deep, raw emotions; that’s kind of always been the inspiration behind writing a song for me. I don’t write for the sake of writing; things that I go through in life then elicit a need in me to express that experience as a song. When I go through something emotionally, then I use Music as my form of expressing my emotions, especially in the form of my lyrics. Usually, the emotions that trigger my inspiration do seem to be heavy, sad emotions, but I always express them with the view to be an encouragement to people who listen to it. I do hope to also include a few more uplifting themes in my songs as well in future.
>Who are some of your musical influences?
I have a wide variety of musical influences. Both my mother and father have always had great taste in music, so I grew up on Bryan Adams, Celine Dione, R.E.M., Beatles, The Beach Boys to name a few. I personally pull more towards Keane, The Killers, Coldplay, Frank Sinatra, Seal, Police, Sting, Kodaline and classical music in general; in my opinion, most of the best bands and my favourite bands are British, but also some American bands of course. I generally am not a fan of Heavy Metal, Blue Grass and Country genres.
>What was your intention, purpose or meaning with the song "Tears" - what does it mean to you?
I wrote this song specifically for a documentary opportunity that came my way. I have a rare genetic disorder that causes a lot of (chronic) pain on a regular basis, and I generally strangely never write or talk about it. I don’t like drawing attention to it, but I am not very private about it or afraid to answer questions about it. When I first wrote “Tears”, I did not know that it was going to become a song; they were lyrics that I maybe hoped might become a song one day. My initial intention was just to express and get the very heavy emotion out that I was feeling at that time. It was a moment in time where I was really struggling to emotionally and mentally handle the pain. The structure was originally more poetic, so it had to be changed when writing the song. When the documentary came across my path, where Sony agreed to have me record the song for the documentary, these lyrics that I had written just stood out, and so it ended up becoming this song as it is today. My intention for the song has changed a bit now – it is now more a spiritual, Christian song for me. A song of honesty, describing just what it is like to have this condition and also the really raw, deep, heavy emotions that you go through if you live with chronic pain. It is also full of questions; you wonder why, not rebelliously, but just in trying to understand the purpose behind living with this. The questions in the song are more rhetorical questions that suggest more than ask; I have come to my own possible conclusions, answers, and that is also what is in the song. My favourite part of the song is that someday I know my Tears will be wiped away by Him – Jesus – the Holy Trinity. I know that One Day we will understand and that One Day our tears will be wiped away by God; that makes it all worth it. It gives us the Courage {to live through this fallen world, despite what we experience} to push on and endure, because there is a bigger purpose behind it. Despite being a heavy, kind of sad song, the main message is to be hopeful and encouraging, so this is my intention – to be relatable and to heal, to help soothe others that might be hurting. I want this song to be a (feeling of) soothing balm, when you relate and to possibly hopefully also lead and point people to Jesus. The song’s meaning is that I am suffering - it is difficult, and I don’t always understand why, but I will accept and endure the path and purpose that God has given to me, through this. He makes it all worth it – the physical and emotional pain. All pain becomes emotional pain eventually {and vice versa}. It was a good song to write and to honour & thank God through it. It’s a very personal song to me.
>Who/what inspired the song? Can you share a few thoughts that you had at the time of writing this song?
It links to what I mentioned above in previous sections – this song is an emotional outlet for me. I truly hope it encourages people to turn to Jesus; He is the Only One who can help us {with everything in life}. Hard times don’t always go away, but God brings Joy in the Suffering.
>Is it dedicated to anyone specifically?
To all the people who deal with and live with chronic pain. To any soul out there who feels lost and hopeless, anyone who feels like they’ve reached the end of their rope that cannot handle their situation in life anymore, anyone who doesn’t understand and feels like giving up. I know what that moment feels like, and because I’ve been through that I can say that God’s Grace is sufficient even when you feel so hopeless and so tired of your situation. For those who Love Him, He will turn everything into good, and I hope that it leads them to Him. He is the only solution.
[I really get emotional about this – it is very close to my heart and me as a person!]
>What are some of your goals and aspirations as a young South African Artist?
I sometimes feel that I don’t have enough ambition. I know that God made each of us with a specific purpose; if we believe in Him and commit our lives to Him, He will work it out. I want my Music to be known and to get out there, Internationally. I hope that my Music will give me a platform to help people. I want to help people emotionally, and I truly hope that my Music might give me a bigger platform and more of that opportunity. I believe that what must happen, will happen; I want God’s will {– I am content in Him and trust His timing}.
>Who is your favourite Local Artist and who is your favourite International Artist?
I am not very into South African Music, but I do like Jeremy Loops, Ladysmith Black Mambazo and Monark. For International Artists, Simon & Garfunkel, Paul Simon, Mumford & Sons, Keane & Coldplay.
>Is there a story behind your Artist Name/Alias?
My Artist Name is my actual name. I have been tempted to have an Alias, but I like my name and I think that McGee is not very common, so I do like it.
>How and when did your music career begin? Would you like to share some of your background (general and/or music)?
I have been singing since I was really young; my mom often found me humming when I was alone in my cot. Music is kind of like a medicine; it soothes. My singing really only started properly when I went to varsity and met one of my best friends – Robynne – we had very similar backgrounds; she played some of the basic demos that I had done to her brother – Markus – who studied Sound Engineering & Music Production. He liked them and was very supportive of my music & singing since then - and so my great association with #Mark7Studios was born, and the rest is History. Markus R. Els is just a fantastic person to work with, and I’m so thankful that God allowed us the opportunity to work together – we think similarly about music and are both very perfectionistic about our music. He understands what I want to do musically so well and perfectly – he captures the vibe of what I want to write so exactly! I really want to pay tribute to Markus – who is truly an amazing producer and music writer, who puts his whole heart into every song, and it’s just incredible to know that the product that you get back is just perfect – he is so meticulous and thorough!
>Who does your Album Art? Is there any specific story, design or inspiration behind it?
I am not great at it, so I have a childhood friend who helps me and does this for me – Sybrand Harris. He is very talented artistically, and I had the idea to ask him from a birthday invitation that he designed! I really would be honoured and would love if both these guys would continue helping me with my Music for always – Sybrand Harris with my Album Art and Markus R. Els with my Music Production – Thank You, guys!!
>Is this track - "Tears" - just a single or part of an album / EP?
It is not part of an Album, though I do wish it was; it is just a single that happened through an amazing Sony Production opportunity. You can read the Lyrics and give it a Listen & a Like here:
Spotify⏬
YouTube⏬
Lyrics⏬
Sony Documentary Preview/Trailer - "Proud Flesh"⏬
>Can you share anything regarding your exclusive Sony Documentary - "Proud Flesh" releasing later this month? What was this amazing experience like?
Wow – What an Experience! We did not have a lot of time to shoot this, just a weekend; it was one crazy experience - a difficult but very enjoyable whirlwind. Being a whole weekend of baring my soul in front of people, it was very emotionally heavy but not necessarily bad though. It was a very special experience, because my cousin was on the team – the Director of Photography; all of the crew created such a safe space and moment for me. It was a very good experience because I wanted to share what I’ve learnt about life by having this sickness, so the documentary was such an amazing opportunity to share that. Through the documentary I have tried to help people understand this condition. It is very raw, and I did not candy coat anything; it shows the deepest, sorest parts {emotionally) of what it’s like to have this. It is quite personal, but I believe in sharing our experiences in life, in order to help and encourage each other. It was also a very interesting experience – I learnt a lot about photography, cinematography and audio; it is all very intricate. They even recorded the sound of my smile!? It was next level detail. Also, it was my first time behind the camera; it was completely non-scripted, so it was kind of scary too. It was such an awesome experience, and I feel so privileged to have had this opportunity!! Huge Thank You to my cousin, Adi van der Walt, Ian Nieuwenhuizen and to Sony!
*on Instagram – check out my “Proud Flesh BTS” Insta Story for extra exclusive detailed highlights of my documentary filming weekend and to hear about a very special experience - an encounter with a herd of Angora goats that happened during our filming of “Proud Flesh”! {It was so chilling having this earthly silence while knowing there was a whole herd slowly following me as I walked down the mountainside, and to hear the sound of their hooves in that utter ‘film set silence’ was just astounding!}
>Do you have any exciting updates and upcoming news that you would like to share? What are your plans for the future?
Yes - the documentary “Proud Flesh” will finally be released towards the end of this month, August 2021; it has been in the works since May 2021, so I am very excited to finally be able to share this with you! I also have another song “Heavy” that is also currently in the works at the remarkable Mark 7 Studios, so I hope to have that finalized and released before the end of this year!
>Any final comments or thoughts that you would like to share with the readers?
Life is hard, but it’s short; there is no way of getting around that. This life is about the after-life, living a spiritual life and sharing, helping and showing Love to others. The Life that we have been given and offered through God is such a privilege – accept it and don’t waste another second of it!
Please check back for Exciting Updates - especially the Music Review of "Tears" and also when the accompanying "Proud Flesh" International Sony Documentary will be releasing SOON! #Awesomeness Loading...⏩
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