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Mandy Kane.
 Mandy
Kane, simply put, is not quite what he seems. Perhaps it's his
Marilyn Manson-esque image that throws people; perhaps it's
his song titles, with such cheery names as Stab, and Billy Bones.
Whatever the case may be, the fact is that the Mandy Kane who
greeted me in a quiet Adelaide cafewas a serene, laid-back kind
of guy. It goes to show just how well some musicians can portray
a character when on stage, and as Kane himself notes, how important
the creativity involved in becoming a character is to the music
behind the character.
The integrity of that creativity was indeed the driving force behind Kane abandoning the demos he had travelled to Los Angeles to re-record under producer Chris Vrenna (whose credits include Nine Inch Nails) in favour of his original recordings, made in his bedroom.
"I just liked the spirit of the original recordings, that's all," he shrugs. "I think it's mainly because they were recorded in my own time, my own space, during high school and beyond - and it allowed a real kind of spontaneity that the L.A. recordings didn't. There were some tracks I did over there that really worked out - probably four of them - and they're still on the record."
The record boasts a sound that, I suggest, seems very much to be straight out of the 1980s - all synthesisers and theatrics. "Absolutely," he insists. "The 80s were a huge influence. I was so young then, but looking back at it now it was one of the most creative times - and one of the most daring and innovative. It was a time of gimmickry and fantasy. My whole world kind of revolves around that - a kind of world of otherworldliness. And I think we're at a time now musically in Australia that synthesisers have been eradicated completely and you've got these very earthy, organic bands and solo performers coming on - there's just this whole other world of frequencies and soundscapes to be explored, and I think that to ignore that is quite ignorant and lazy. So, delving into the world of synthesisers and combining it with organics is what I hope to achieve."
I note that perhaps combining such interesting music with what seem to be moments of black comedy, or of simply taking the piss, is another laudable achievement.
"Yeah - even Billy Bones was a funny song, and Stab
was a kind of ironic take on teenage suicide. None of the tracks
are supposed to be doom-and-gloom based, you know? It's a pop
record at the end of the day, and it's all about having fun.
I just find that darker side of nature quite amusing and absurd
- so to me it's all pretty funny.
"My original idea for Mandy Kane was to have this tragic kind
of clown figure, who was abandoned by this circus troupe and
wandering through this fairground - and he meets these characters
along the way, the characters like Spastic Annie and
Billy Bones, the mannequin [all of which are featured
in songs on the album] - it was just kind of an analogy for
me exploring my imagination."
Unsurprisingly, his plans for live performance are similarly theatrical. "What I plan to do first is take this little one-man show out on the road, do shows around clubs in the city - just play tiny rooms, that'd be really cool. It's more like a rock pantomime, the way I see it; then go out later with the band and do a high-profile support of some sort. There are a few in the pipeline, so we'll see where that takes me. But it's good to connect with the audience in an intimate setting, be able to take on a character during the performance and then greet them afterwards as myself - it's a more traditional way of performing, I suppose."
Essentially, Mandy Kane is just someone living his dreams, as strange as they may seem. "I guess it's all about just being able to live out childhood fantasies. That's what I'm trying to do; that's what I think everyone is trying to do. I refuse to grow up; I won't do it, and I'm lucky to have the opportunity to have people support me in what I do. I've been able to develop a career as a professional daydreamer, basically."
Justin Blatchford
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'Tragic Daydreams' is out now through Warner.
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