Ahh, the side-project. What self-respecting, successful band doesn’t find time to indulge in that most enduring of musical curios? This time, it’s Children Collide frontman Johnny Mackay’s turn to unveil his brand new musical guise.
Fascinator is the new psychedelically influenced project from the rock star, and although it was originally first revealed last October – as FasterLouder points out – with debut single ‘Sexuality / Mystery’, along with an anonymously sourced five track EP, Birth following in November, Mackay has now confessed that he’s the man behind the mask.
The video for ‘Sexuality / Mystery’, featuring Dune Rats members Danny Beusa and BC Deusa, who first posted the clip to their Facebook page attributing it to ‘Fascinator’ as “some sick dude we met in New York.” The sick dude in question being Johnny Mackay, with the Children Collide frontman calling New York home for the last few months while he worked on his new side-project, as well as ‘making films’.
All has been officially revealed now with the release of a new video clip for Fascinator track, ‘Mr Caterpillar,’ directed and edited by Mackay, and starring the frontman alongside Australian models Bridget Malcolm and Rose Smith, prancing about in an elaborate set of novelty costumes (caterpillars, hot dogs, poached eggs).
Musically, its a decidedly psychedelic, acid-fried turn away from Children Collide’s more straight-ahead rock antics, with Mackay drawling in tones closer to Bobby Gillespie’s E-fuelled Primal Scream youth, with Madchester grooves aplenty, and some droning, background keys.“Musically, its a decidedly psychedelic, acid-fried turn away from Children Collide’s more straight-ahead rock antics.”
Mackay was no doubt developing his new musical moniker during his New York stay, during which the dreadful Hurricane Sandy hit. “We had four or five days without power and gas, and it was kind of like camping except that we played lots of chess and backgammon,” remembers Mackay about the superstorm in his recent interview with Tone Deaf. “One night I lit tea light candles and arranged them and managed to heat up our unit using [them]!”
Mackay returned home late last year with Children Collide, playing the final shows of 2012 in support of the band’s latest album Monument, including a slot at Pyramid Rock Festival in Phillip Island.
In related news, Children Collide, along with their fellow acts on the Crucial Music management roster, including The Living End, Gyroscope, and Hunting Grounds have all been dumped from New World Artsist booking agency following the departure of Austrlian emcee 360 late last year that industry speculation is citing as the catalyst for the shock nes.
Back to Mr Mackay, there’s no word yet whether Fascinator is an ongoing project, or if it will become a live concern, but in the meantime, the psychedelic sounds of five-track EP Birth is available digitally from Bandcamp here.
