A to Z: Annie Mac

“If you love great music, you’ll love this compilation – just like everyone at IDJ!” 5/5 IDJ Magazine – Compilation of the Month

The A to Z is the mother of all compilation series, devised by Sunday Best’s own Rob da Bank, giving artists free reign over 26 tracks as long as the artists names run from A to Z. Couldn’t be simpler.

Following on from the sterling A to Z series debut, put together by The Cuban Brothers, rising Radio 1 star Annie Mac is charged with alphabetising her favourite records, covering all corners of the musical map.

Born and bred in Dublin to a family immersed in musicality, Annie left home at 17 to attend Queens University in Belfast, where she was bitten by the clubbing bug after seeing Techno legends Justin Roberson, Andrew Weatherall and Laurent Garnier at the city’s legendary Shine club nights. Inspired to purchase her first set of decks, Annie taught herself to mix using old funk and soul records bought from local charity shops. Following a stint as part of Shine’s marketing team and four months living in Manhattan, Annie made the move to London, working simultaneously as a TV & Radio plugger, a freelance Broadcasting Assistant and a presenter for the SBN, before she approached Radio 1.  Initially employed as a BA, her natural flair got her noticed by management and she was soon guest presenting One World and standing in for Mary Anne Hobbs on the Breezeblock, before being given her own show in July 2004.

Emerging as one of Radio 1’s most popular specialist presenters, Annie has presented her current Thursday night show for two years.  The end of September will see her move to Friday nights at 10pm, continuing to play the cutting edge dance music Annie has become known for, as well as adding in a more underground indie flavour to proceedings.  Annie will also front a second Radio 1 show on Sunday nights at 9pm that will be fully interactive and generated by the audience, for the audience.  Her appeal isn’t limited to the late night shows either. Annie has enjoyed successful stints covering for Jo Whiley, Zane Lowe, Sara Cox and Pete Tong, as well as being the official deputy for the early Breakfast show. Aside from her Radio 1 shows Annie is a reporter for BBC2’s The Culture Show and has been taking club-land by storm with her Annie Mac Presents tours which feature DJs hand picked by Annie.

‘A to Z: Annie Mac,’ is Annie’s first compilation ever, so she’s delved deep into her record collection, gathering together stone cold classics and cutting edge gems, displaying an all embracing love for a good party tune.  Spread over two discs, Annie crams in the quality in from the start.

Kicking off disc one, Roy Ayers’ blissfully smooth ‘Everybody Loves The Sunshine’ sets things up for the super-fuelled beats of High Contrast’s ‘Racing Green’; darlings du jour Hot Chips’ ‘And I Was A Boy From School’; and Jamie Lidell’s ‘Multiply’.  Disc two sees classic action from Nu Shooz, ‘I Can’t Wait’ before dropping more flawless bullets from Orbital, Royksopp and the legendary ‘Uptown Top Rankin’ from Althea & Donna.