Love Letter to a Record: Sophie May on Mac Miller's 'Swimming'

Music Feeds’ Love Letter To A Record series asks artists to reflect on their relationship with music and share stories about how the music they love has influenced their lives. Here, UK songwriter Sophie May confesses her love for Mac Miller’s Swimming (2018).

Sophie May released her debut EP, You Do Not Have to Be Good, on Friday, 5th August. But the candid singer-songwriter had already built a considerable social media audience before releasing any music. At last count, May’s TikTok following has eclipsed two-hundred thousand, while her Spotify profile has thirty-thousand followers.

Sophie May’s Love Letter to Mac Miller’s ‘Swimming’

Mac Miller’s Swimming came out the year I had my heart broken for the first time. Mac Miller was actually his – the guy that dumped me – favourite artist. So I decided to dwell in my sadness and listen to all of his songs while I pined for someone that didn’t want me.

Through doing so, I accidentally discovered an album that resonated deeply with me. His lyrical genius left me in awe. The whole album felt like poetry, soothing my bruised ego while still feeding my angst. I loved how he would layer dark lyrics over smooth melodies, making a song super-listenable while still having said something truthful.

At that point in time I’d only just bought my first guitar. I think I knew three chords and I was slowly torturing my family members as I blasted them through an amp in my bedroom. I couldn’t really sing, or at least it didn’t come naturally. So writing was the only thing I felt somewhat special at. I clung to that part of myself and looked to Swimming as some type of holy grail of lyrical mastery.

I was transitioning from poetry to songwriting. So, in all honestly, I wasn’t very good yet. Mac Miller’s work existed in a different universe to my broken verses. However, Swimming taught me that music ultimately had no rules, and as long as you’re coming at it from a position that feels truthful, it usually finds some way of resonating – even if that’s just to yourself.

Mac Miller – ‘Small Worlds’

I would mainly listen to the album on my commute to the bar job I had in Soho. It was a repetitive journey and the album would last me through the whole tube ride. At first, my favourite track was ‘Small Worlds’, which I thought was brilliantly self-reflective and clever while not feeling too “smart”.

I loved how haunted the whole album felt. It had an earthiness about it, but you could hear the deep sadness that existed throughout. That pain felt so sincere, I couldn’t help but feel comforted. Every track left me feeling more capable to battle my new lovelorn way of living.

As time passed I found a new favourite: ‘So It Goes’, in which Mac quotes the phrase from Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse-Five. I found his ability to create new work from the art he loved extremely inspiring.

Swimming felt different to other albums in the way it seemed it hadn’t been written while following a rule book. Still, when played through, it becomes clear how strong Mac’s artistry was and how much work and effort had been put into that album. It changed my view on lyrics and melodies, and it will always be my heartbreak album.

It’s the best thing I ever inherited from an ex-boyfriend.