Live Review: WATCH: Connan Mockasin 'I'm The Man, That Will Find You' (Official Video)
If you manage to prick the ears of Erol Alkan, even if you don't create music that is electronic, that's quite a feat. That's what Connan Mockasin has done
If you're an artist that manages to prick up the ears of Erol Alkan, even if you don't create music that is very electronic inspired... that's quite a feat. Well, that's exactly what CONNAN MOCKASIN has done.
This (then) unknown New Zealand artist self-released his (now) acclaimed debut LP, Forever Dolphin Love in 2010. But, the story got a whole lot more interesting, as once Alkan got his mitts around it - he promptly signed Mockasin on the spot to his (then) new label, Phantasy, and then re-issued it's release. Erol’s 10-minute rework of the album title track became a regular hallmark of his DJ gigs and soon after artists such as Radiohead, Grizzly Bear, Beach House, The Horrors, Django Django and Warpaint started citing Connan Mockasin as an artist they admired. Radiohead even got Mockasin to open for their huge Australian tour last year.
Fast forward to 2013 and Connan brings us his follow up to FDL in, Caramel. Released on Phantasy at the beginning of the month, it features an inventive and unique brand of mutated, lustrous soul - and was almost wholly self-recorded over a month in a Tokyo hotel room. The new album explores different regions of his vast soundscape, not just soul and folk - but a fantastical mould of blues, funk, ambience -with oriental and Gallic tendencies laced throughout.
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The lead single from the LP is 'I'm The Man, That Will Find You' is an ode to love. An ode to lust. And probably an ode to being a bit creepy too. It is the perfect example of Connan's foray into Funk, as this track is as much a throwback to that era than any Daft Punk/Nile Rodgers colab could ever be. The difference being, that there are so many other distorted elements and lo-fi sounds that pulsate throughout the mix, leading the track to being much more than a disco jam.
Directed by Daniel Brereton, the accompanying clip follows Mockasin as pines for a women from a distance - which admittedly is really creepy. As this mystery women flows in and out of rooms of a mansion, Connan isn't too far behind - creepily whispering 'I'm the man, that will find you' to the camera. He also kisses some feet at one point...
It’s another sign that Mockasin is going places, but at his own pace, and in his own insanely intriguing way.
Caramel is out now via Phantasy Sound.
Words: Tom Hutchins
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