Dusted Down with guest editor Amon Tobin – Connan Mockasin – Forever Dolphin Love (Because Music)

Our guest editor Dusts Down a favourite from his collection for your consideration

“I think he’s just a stunning songwriter, fucking incredible. In terms of composition and arrangement and orchestration, all those things., I just think this album is a bit of a master stroke.

He’s been around for a while – I think he’s Australian (he’s from New Zealand actually – geography ed) and this came maybe in the early 2000s. It’s an odd record for me because it’s not even that I love all of the sonic choices in it. But I wouldn’t really want it any other way either.

There are loads of conflicts for me in the record. There’s a very ‘chorus’ guitar sound in it that’s very 80s but the record itself is more like a 60s record made in the 80s.  It’s timeless. 

The arrangements are spectacular and effortless and very kind of sophisticated – but very understated too.  It’s all these things that sort of conflict. It’s very natural but it’s, sort of contrived.  It’s like this maddening puzzle for me where I’ll sit and feel challenged by it. Well, I feel like I can let it wash over me or I can put it under a magnifying glass and drive myself crazy trying to pick it apart.  It has that thing that great songs and great music have – ghosts of things that you know, it’s literally haunted by those influences.  So you’ll think ‘this reminds me of this – but not really. ‘ It’s this wonderful set of contradictions for me that I really like.

He’s done some stuff before this and some stuff after which I didn’t gel with quite as well but I still appreciate on a writing level.  I’ve never seen him live – I think he lives in LA too – and I’d like to of I could because he’s an interesting character. You should check out this album though – you might like it.