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, as one UK reviewer did, “giddy with the oxygen of originality”. Put simply, Connan Mockasin is not like anyone else. Whether he is singing an ode to a favourite pet, parading one of his handmade costumes, strumming his autoharp, performing fretboard heroics or manipulating one of his home-styled instruments, he has the uncommon ability to make an entire crowd smile.
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. He has collaborated with Fatboy Slim on a track for the multi-million selling DJ/producer’s new album Brighton Port Authority, which also includes contributions from David Byrne and Iggy Pop.