The faintly salty breeze blowing in from the channel is deliciously soothing as I wander along Brighton’s seafront to meet CONNAN MOCKASIN. It’s lunchtime on day two of The Great Escape and the sun is blazing its approval. I’m listening to the aquatically appropriate Forever Dolphin Love (listen above): the sprawling, seductive heart of Connan’s debut album proper ‘Please Turn Me Into The Snat’. It’s a heavily scented wonder of a song that takes its time revealing itself but when it does – BAM – you’re in its grasp. That experience is reflective of the entire album: a sensual triumph that languorously levitates somewhere between psychedelic Rock and far eastern Folk. It’s full of beguiling language, mystical ideas and stirring instrumentation. There’s also humour, without straying into whimsical territory. In fact, so much about him calls to mind early Syd Barrett, though Connan’s perspective on the world is eccentric rather than erratic.

We meet in the courtyard of Skint Records where he’ll perform in the sun to Norman Cook, Egyptian Hip Hop (download their Dummy Mix here) and various other music types in an hour or so. But first we toddle off to a generic seafront restaurant for a glass of red wine and a chat. Dressed in blue cotton long sleeved t-shirt and trousers, like an off-duty Cold War era astronaut someone later comments, Connan is open and friendly yet also a little shy. Compliments about his album seem to take him aback; thanks are timidly spoken through his scruffy white blonde fringe. Which is funny because timid is something he absolutely isn’t. There is a calm aura about him but it’s the kind of peacefulness that commands attention. When he’s on stage everything runs at his pace; the audience awaits his glance to applaud. It’s a pretty incredible thing to witness, seeing as – in his own words – he’s just been “floating around for ages”. That floating around, however, has included a couple of small releases with his old band (then called Connan and the Mockasins), a track with Cook, a string of gigs at Durrr and his fair share of touring, supporting Late Of The Pier amongst others. There was interest from labels but every potential deal called for creative compromises, something very much at odds with his sensibilities. Plus he’d slowly fallen out of love with the band’s musical direction. “I got really bored of it, and couldn’t get out of it so I was stuck doing that for ages. Eventually we broke up, it was bubbling up for ages. And then I went back to New Zealand for a while and started working on this record, eventually after hanging around for 8 months or so smoking pot,” he laughs.

‘Please Turn Me Into The Snat’ is out now on Phantasy. Forever Dolphin Love will be released as a single later this year. Connan Mockasin will play a special album release party at Durrr on June 10th.

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