Conan the contrarian

I first saw Conan Mockasin a few years ago on a pier in Brighton (during The Great Escape Festival...I wasn't just stalking him). It was before the whole psych revival thing had got going and he played a dreamy version of  Forever Dolphin Love that, perhaps appropriately enough, did indeed seem to go on forever. This was all in strong contrast to the 2 or 3 minute pop songs being peddled by a lot of the bands that weekend and it remains one of the odder gigs I've seen, partly down to the location and partly down to Mockasin's distinctively twisted performance. Fast forward a few years and bands like Temples are taking psych to the masses (well, sort of) making 2014 the perfect year for Conan's follow up to his debut album (a classic slice of psych pop if ever I heard one), also titled Forever Dolphin Love. If anything he comes across as even more 'other worldly' than ever and some of his newer stuff sounds like Prince after a particularly large spliff or six (come on...admit it, that's a pretty intriguing concept eh?). Cop a listen to this and see what I mean...



If you want to see the full live spectacle you're in luck. He's off on a mini tour later this month with a gig at the Hare and Hounds  on January 23rd hosted by This Is Tmrw (tickets here). Farrrrrrrrrrrrrr out maaaaaaaaaaan.