It’s difficult to describe the enigma that is Connan Mockasin.
Softly spoken, his face framed by blonde locks, Mockasin (whose real name is Connan Hosford) is the picture-perfect musical poster boy. Emerging under the moniker Connan And The Mockasins in the early 2000s, the New Zealand artist proceeded to release two albums, tour with Radiohead and Charlotte Gainsbourg, and collaborate with the likes of Dev Hynes, AKA Blood Orange.
Behind all this, however, it seems the driving force for Hosford’s initial success came from somewhere closer to home. His number one fan, apparently, is none other than his dear ol’ ma. “I started making my first record because my mum told me I should,” Hosford says. “I was kind of brainwashed into the idea of recording in a proper studio, but my mum just said, ‘No, you don’t’.”
That DIY element came to strongly influence Hosford’s approach to songwriting, and his early albums have a kind of taped together feel that comes with their own distinctly lo-fi pleasures. “The equipment I made my first album [Please Turn Me Into The Snat] on was quite simple: it was all home recording,” he says. “I didn’t really have many options. I think having that freedom and no restrictions helped me make it.”
Nowadays however, all of Hosford’s focus is on an old project that has only recently come to light: a record put together close to a decade ago has resurfaced, and is due for release towards the end of this month. Recorded in numerous locations but predominately in England, Soft Hair brings together Mockasin and Sam Eastgate, more commonly known as LA Priest and a member of disbanded dance punk outfit Late Of The Pier. Together, the pair are Soft Hair, and their record combines the best of both of their worlds, gaining from Eastgate’s slow jam style and Hosford’s strange and demented pop strains.
Nonetheless, speaking from Los Angeles, it seems Hosford is hesitant about feeling a sense of nostalgia regarding the release. “Maybe once it’s released [I’ll feel nostalgic], and then when it’s been another eight years – but I’m not sure. Not many people have heard this record quite yet: it’s just been our friends. Those people encouraged us to release it.
“We made this record eight years ago and it was finished about seven years ago, so it’s been quite a long time. I’m quite eager to release this: it’s a record I’m really proud of. I wouldn’t release it if I was embarrassed by it or because it was too old.”
Despite its age, the album is a testimony to both Hosford and Eastgate’s ability to create music that can still remain so relevant and ‘with the times’, particularly in such a dynamic and constantly evolving industry as the music business. Indeed, the album opens with ‘Relaxed Lizard’, a track that tips its hat to the off-the-wall sensibilities of both artists while still proving danceable. The lyrics meld together, proving indecipherable at points and adding to the song’s already overwhelming lustre.
If all that sounds a bit esoteric, then there’s a reason for that: Hosford works in musical realms that are difficult to describe, and more often than not his tunes hit you on a level that is emotional rather than logical. It’s difficult to pinpoint a genre that his music sits in, and as a result quite often his work is thrown under the ‘psychedelic’ umbrella – another term Hosford seems hesitant towards using.
“I don’t really think that I make psychedelic music,” he says. “When I first started getting into guitar I was listening to blues a lot, so I was quite heavily influenced by blues.” Indeed, Jimi Hendrix, Buddy Guy and B.B. King are a few of the names Hosford lists off the top of his head. “I don’t even really know what the word ‘psychedelic’ means. I’d probably say Caramel was more soft R&B instrumental. But I can definitely see why people have taken to using that term.”
That mix and meld of genres is evident all across Soft Hair, particularly on the album’s lead single ‘Lying Has To Stop’. The track itself seems like an out take from Hosford’s Caramel – aspects of R&B collide with delicate, electro layers as a strange squeaking sound rises and falls. Given how odd and layered the tune is, it’s not particularly surprising that Hosford reveals that he is more interested in weaving together soundscapes than he is writing regular old tunes.
“I don’t particularly like writing songs more than I like writing music,” he explains. “I like writing music and putting it together as a song – it’s like work for me. That’s why I like writing and focusing on more instrumental pieces. Then also, I like singing, but I don’t like the concept of songs.”
Ultimately for Hosford, one of the most rewarding aspects of the process was having a collaborator. Although he has in the past featured on other artists’ records, and has engaged with other musicians by writing the odd tune for them here or there, never before has he had a true comrade in arms: someone that has been able to encourage and influence him every single step of the way.
“Having two of us writing this record made it really easy,” Hosford says. “Because you could [have someone] take over the role of the writer, you know? You could come up with an idea and someone could help out and try something when you couldn’t really be bothered.”
Soft Hair is out Friday October 28 through Domino.
