Connan Mockasin - Please Turn Me Into the Snat

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5...according to our Brian on Thu 03 Jun, 2010.

New Zealand native artist and his eponymously monikered band Connan Mockasin are one of modern pop's true maverick outsiders. The last time I heard them was when they had a single out called Sneaky Sneaky Dogfriend which had this spine-tinglingly fabulous Sesame St vibe and was such a joyous feelgood classic I took one home regardless of it coming out on the largely execrable Regal 7" series. Now years down the line they're back with an oddball full length CD which showcases a new, considered psychedelic/ambient rock approach that still manages to sound totally otherworldy & intriguing, like proper cosmic stuff tinged with what sounds like snatches of a far Eastern folk style. Connan's occasional sparring partner on songwriting duties is fellow NZ bad boy Lawrence Arabia who almost blew Beach House off stage at a club near me recently with his strange out-of-time chill-rock. I think the Kiwis are finally sussing out how to disrupt the mediocrity of the music industry again in a most subtle fashion and the mellow feel of this album is imbued with so much spectral beauty & chilled android nous it really does sound out of this world (especially the demented pixie vocals!) I bet you're curious. This is groovy, cerebral & magical music for fans of everyone from Der Floyd, Broadcast to Air & beyond. A lovely surprise!

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Somewhere between fantasy and reality, innocence and wisdom, pop music and an art form as yet unnamed, is the world of Connan Mockasin. Enter that world and you may find yourself overwhelmed at the originality of his music, Connan simply does not sound like anyone else, something that is pretty uncommon these days.

June 1st sees the highly anticipated release of Connan Mockasin’s debut album ‘Please Turn Me Into The Snat’. Written and recorded over the last 18-months, from East Sussex to an abandoned haunted house in Wellington, Connan introduces the listener to a quadropuss, unicorns in uniform, and alter egos such as Don Dicaprio - a 4 year old who is obsessed with film heartthrobs. ‘Please Turn Me Into The Snat’ will be released on Erol Alkan’s label Phantasy (Late of The Pier, Riton & Primary 1, Fan Death).

Creativity has always been Connan’s engine. Growing up in rural Hawkes Bay, NZ, he was already playing guitar in a blues band by the age of ten while pursuing overlapping interests in art and invention. A classically trained jazz musician, Connan utilizes this whilst manipulating his home-styled instruments to create new sounds, for example in the forthcoming single “Forever Dolphin Love” he recreates the sound of paddling in the shallows with a dolphin. The single due out later this year will feature a remix by The Invisible and also a cover of the track by Micachu.

Since relocating to the UK from his native New Zealand over three years ago, he has charmed audiences everywhere; from Hyde Park (where he played alongside the White Stripes) and Green Man Festival (Robert Plant, Joanna Newsom) to London’s legendary Durr club, where he remains the only artist to have been invited back three times. Connan collaborated with Fatboy Slim on a track for the multi-million selling DJ/producer’s 2009 album ‘Brighton Port Authority‘ and also composed music for the critically acclaimed films: ‘Six Dollar Fifty Man’ and Alexis Dos Santos‘ ‘Unmade Beds’ - the latter of which Connan went on to appear in.

Additionally, Connan has also been recording with Lawrence Arabia and Liam Finn - the trio spent a month recording an album last year & touring round New Zealand together - entitled the BARB project, the album will be released this year.

In Connan’s world, the workaday seems surreal, the humdrum exotic, the mundane hallucinatory, and everyone is welcome.

Tracklisting:

01. Megumi The Milkway Above
02. It’s Choade My Dear
03. Faking Jazz Together
04. Quadropuss Island
05. Forever Dolphin Love
06. Muss
07. Egon Hosford
08. Unicorn In Uniform
09. Grampa Moff
010. Please Turn Me Into The Snat