In SOUND CHECK, we check in with some of our favorite musicians.
“He sounds like Flight of the Conchords,” a girl says to her boyfriend at Connan Mockasin’s sold-out show at Glasslands last Friday night. It wasn’t just his novel New Zealand accent; Connan was cracking the crowd up, much like the comedians from his homeland. The constant dialogue with his audience—from asking for song suggestions, to asking who had a good day—was interspersed with jokes and pranks. It was obvious the guy knew how to captivate the crowd, but it was his singing that really sent it into a trance. A high, sultry, croon was followed by a blues-laced drone of guitars and keyboards, and the whole room went quiet except for hums from fans mouthing lyrics. After touring with Radiohead and Charlotte Gainsbourg while composing for the latter, the singer came back to New York to kick off his first US tour. We caught up with him before the show and chatted about eating whale, Lost in Translation, and recording his new album Caramel in a hotel room in Tokyo.
Photos by Sam Edward
Grace Wang: Fill in the blanks: My name is ___ and my music sounds like ____ .
Connan Mockasin: My name is Connan Mockasin and my music sounds like rock.
You recorded Caramel in a hotel room in the span of a month. Do you have any good stories about your time in Tokyo?
I tried some whale. Didn’t really like it. Well, it tasted like kinda fatty ham; not that good. But, yeah, that was kinda exciting.
For me, thinking about the way the album sounds brings to mind scenes from Like Someone in Love and Lost in Translation. If your music were to be a soundtrack to a film, what would it be?
I’d like to see it on Hall Pass. Or The Endless Summer II. I listened to some music off a surfing movie which I really liked and thought that was quite cool.
What did your bedroom look like as a teenager? What was your first poster?
I didn’t have my own bedroom. I had to share with my two brothers, so I didn’t really have anything but beds. We had the whole Star Wars shots of The Empire Strikes Back, all of them around the room which was really nice.
I heard and loved a story of you discovering Jimi Hendrix. Which song did you teach yourself to play?
Well, my parents had the Band of Gypsys record in the cupboard, so it was just the stuff off that, like "Machine Gun." I'd put it onto tapes, so [I could] just replay it over and over and try and copy [it]. I was really obsessed with it.
You once said in an interview, “If you’re listening to music all the time you can’t hear.” What did you mean by that?
Yeah, when you're making music it’s just like when you hear tunes in your head, but you can’t hear [them] if you’re always listening to [other] music. I lived with someone once who listened to music all the time and I just couldn’t write anything. It was just always Deftones and stuff playing. And Tool.
So you’re a
“He sounds like Flight of the Conchords,” a girl says to her boyfriend at Connan Mockasin’s sold-out show at Glasslands last Friday night. It wasn’t just his novel New Zealand accent; Connan was cracking the crowd up, much like the comedians from his homeland. The constant dialogue with his audience—from asking for song suggestions, to asking who had a good day—was interspersed with jokes and pranks. It was obvious the guy knew how to captivate the crowd, but it was his singing that really sent it into a trance. A high, sultry, croon was followed by a blues-laced drone of guitars and keyboards, and the whole room went quiet except for hums from fans mouthing lyrics. After touring with Radiohead and Charlotte Gainsbourg while composing for the latter, the singer came back to New York to kick off his first US tour. We caught up with him before the show and chatted about eating whale, Lost in Translation, and recording his new album Caramel in a hotel room in Tokyo.
Photos by Sam Edward
Grace Wang: Fill in the blanks: My name is ___ and my music sounds like ____ .
Connan Mockasin: My name is Connan Mockasin and my music sounds like rock.
You recorded Caramel in a hotel room in the span of a month. Do you have any good stories about your time in Tokyo?
I tried some whale. Didn’t really like it. Well, it tasted like kinda fatty ham; not that good. But, yeah, that was kinda exciting.
For me, thinking about the way the album sounds brings to mind scenes from Like Someone in Love and Lost in Translation. If your music were to be a soundtrack to a film, what would it be?
I’d like to see it on Hall Pass. Or The Endless Summer II. I listened to some music off a surfing movie which I really liked and thought that was quite cool.
What did your bedroom look like as a teenager? What was your first poster?
I didn’t have my own bedroom. I had to share with my two brothers, so I didn’t really have anything but beds. We had the whole Star Wars shots of The Empire Strikes Back, all of them around the room which was really nice.
I heard and loved a story of you discovering Jimi Hendrix. Which song did you teach yourself to play?
Well, my parents had the Band of Gypsys record in the cupboard, so it was just the stuff off that, like "Machine Gun." I'd put it onto tapes, so [I could] just replay it over and over and try and copy [it]. I was really obsessed with it.
You once said in an interview, “If you’re listening to music all the time you can’t hear.” What did you mean by that?
Yeah, when you're making music it’s just like when you hear tunes in your head, but you can’t hear [them] if you’re always listening to [other] music. I lived with someone once who listened to music all the time and I just couldn’t write anything. It was just always Deftones and stuff playing. And Tool.
So you’re a