The art of performance is in singer and songwriter Mack Keane’s DNA. Keane, who was born and raised in Los Angeles. He is the son of producer Tom Keane and actress and singer Paula Mulcahy, as well as the grandson of musician and Del-Fi Records founder Bob Keane. He started making music after enrolling in NYU’s Clive Davis Institute of Music, eventually releasing his single “Model Behavior” in 2016.
He released his debut self-titled EP the following year, then Donna Ave, Aquanetta Dr, and Dry Creek Rd in 2019. In 2022, Keane released the collaborative EP Intersections with producer esta., which generated significant buzz on SoundCloud.
Similar to Keane, esta. has been making a name for himself within the Los Angeles music scene since the aughts. Due to Keane’s spin on contemporary R&B, we featured him in SCENES: SoCal Soul, which is part of our ongoing docuseries studying growing subcultures in music.
SCENES highlights the communities of artists and fans who are making an impact in music and culture. SoCal Soul refers to a collection of artists who are defined by their love of R&B music and commitment to upholding its tradition. California has a detailed history when it comes to the genre and Keane is eager to add to it due to his great reverence for it. “It’s allowing yourself to be vulnerable,” Keane tells SoundCloud, describing R&B music. “There’s pain in it.” But there’s also an abundance of beauty in the music, which Keane discovered at a young age by listening to his parents’ records and being in close proximity to his father’s work.
SCENES: SoCal Soul also gave Keane the space to show why he was included as one of the rising talents in R&B through an intimate, acoustic performance of “Without You.” The song, which is the first track on Intersections, is powered by faint keys, steady percussion, and Keane’s breathy vocals. The live version, in all of its minimalist glory, is more affecting: it’s just Keane’s soft voice and the keys as he performs outside. The vulnerability Keane described as being intrinsic to R&B shines through in this performance. In addition, Intersections features guest appearances by Los Angeles singer Joyce Wrice and Destin Conrad, the Los Angeles-based singer who’s also featured in SCENES: SoCal Soul.
Check out Mack Keane on SoundCloud, and listen to our SoCal Soul playlist, which features the new faces of R&B coming out of Southern California.
WATCH SCENES: SOCAL SOUL
Credits: Directed by C.T. Roberts. Portraits by Ira Chernova. BTS by 70mm.
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