In Conversation With - Dom McAllister
Soulful pop artist Dom McAllister has just released his beautiful ‘Low On A Wave EP’, which sees him exploring and being honest about the topic of love and sexuality. He took a moment to talk to us about the EP and his plans for the future.
So your EP ‘Low On A Wave’ is out now, how does it feel?
It feels amazing! Super grateful and excited to put this project out for everyone to listen to.
What is the inspiration behind the title?
Taken from a lyric in 'Incense’ “Sailing my low on a wave” it just means that I was in a dark place but surrounding myself with friends and music to help me get through it. Every song is pretty heavy in terms of its lyrical content which is why I wanted have it produced to mellow beats so people can still catch a vibe listening to it.
Where was it recorded? Are there any behind the scenes stories from the recording process you are happy to share with us?
Most of the EP was recorded in bedroom/attic studio setups. I found myself more comfortable in those types of studios as the tracks don’t really feel like songs but more like blurry diary entries that aren’t that vivid to me anymore. I worked with JONAH, French Braids, TheoDouk, Lloyd Hinshelwood, and Hoost. It was cool to have producers let me be super blunt and honest with my stories.
The single ‘Intentions’ sees you pairing up with the rapper Jords, how did that come about and can you tell us more about the track?
‘Intentions’ is the one single I’m most nervous to release. Even though the entire EP is quite dark, this seems to be the darkest! I love it because it feels like London was injected into the song. I initially wrote it with my early mentor Bless Beats shortly after the Grenfell Tower tragedy. It felt like there was a grey cloud glooming over West London, and the first half of the song was basically blurted out over a hip hop beat and some chords. About a year later I took the song to producer Hoost who introduced me to Jords. I thought his voice was sick and loved to have him on the record. His verse blew me away. Everything was so relatable and I’m sure it has brought me to tears once or twice.
Do you have a favorite lyric on the EP? If so, what is it and why?
I have a couple, obviously the title is a fave. “This camouflage won’t cover up your weakness” from ‘Camouflage’ always sticks out to me. It just reminds me to be open and not to hold things in all the time like I used to. “Try reach or keep waiting around, I don’t want strangers here laying me down” from my new track ‘Lingers’ with French Braids. This is one of favourite tracks from the EP. It takes me out of that depressive state and takes my mind to a more self aware/sexy place (LOL).
What would you say are the main themes of the EP? What sort of message were you trying to put out?
The core themes of the EP are chaos and order and sexuality. I was selfishly writing this EP and the writing process was quite lonely - I didn’t do much collaboration with other writers, what was going on in my head felt way too personal to open up in a creative/professional environment. So I’m not so sure what kind of energies the audience is going to take from it. I just hope people relate. Whether they’re going through exactly what I’m singing about or if it brings a thought to a completely different experience of their own.
The EP sees you creating this space to be honest about love and sexuality? Do you feel it has developed your own personal feelings towards those, and do you feel the music industry should be more open towards it as well? Especially when it comes to sexuality?
I feel like especially in the UK, there's still something quite traditional with the way things work around here. It’s nice to see artist like Sam Smith and Years And Years embrace their sexuality in their music. But I still feel like outside the UK musical and social politics have elevated with artists like Frank Ocean and Troye Sivan being super bold which is exciting. I also don’t think the industry is all to blame — we live in a heteronormative society where many people still seem to be slightly uncomfortable with “fabulousness” and queerness. I find people who question a gay person who is quite outrageous or camp quite strange. I mean, whats the actual issue, I don’t know if people have a reason for being prejudiced or if it’s just internal homophobia. The point is the rest of society needs to get with it. Accepting and sticking together is what we should do. Writing about love and sexuality and has taught me a lot about myself. I was hurt by someone who was hurting inside because he didn’t accept himself. This happens a lot but no one really talks about how it can have a negative impact on others around them. Hiding from who you are doesn’t do any favours to anyone. But all this bullish*t has shaped who I am today. And I’m quite happy at the moment!
You grew up in a Scottish and Filipino household, what was that like? What are your earliest musical memories from it?
My earliest musical memory is listening to a lot of Sam Cooke records on repeat! And to be honest my Glaswegian dad still has the king of soul on a loop. I’m so lucky to grow up with soul music. Filipinos love a good ballad. My mum would be playing a lot of Whitney and Celine. You can’t have a filipino Celebration without a bit karaoke too!
Now the EP is out there, what are your plans for the next few months?
I plan to write more! I’ve got a lot of darkness out of way with this EP and I’m having a lot more fun collaborating with new writers. I’m in early stages of doing a different sound which is more upbeat but it’s going in a very exciting direction.