Chris McCarter, vocalist with the Australian goth band Ikon, resurfaces with four songs (and a remix) recorded during solo sessions with Melbourne-based pop-blues-Americana multli-instrumentalist/producer Mic Hubbard earlier this year. The EP is out via Cleopatra Records.

“Atmosphere” is titled for its opening track, a cover of the Joy Division classic – a song, says Chris, that he has loved since his mid-teens. “Releasing my favourite song as my debut solo single, l thought was a great place to start.”

He recalls his introduction to the song.”I was 16, early 1987,l just got into Joy Division from New Order. Back in the day, pre internet, l remember asking the salesperson at the record shop what was ‘Atmosphere’ like. He replied amazing, like every sales person did. Little did I know, until l got home after a 30 minute train journey, just how amazing the track was until I put on the headphones and played it. To this day, it’s like something from another dimension. Life changing, is an understatement.”

Here’s the video for the title track.

Another track is Scottish singer-songwriter Kirsten Adamson’s “What Happens When You Don’t Follow Your Heart”, which was in fact among the very first tracks Chris and Hubbard recorded together. “I said ‘l’m going to get something to eat; you want to put some guitar on the Kirsten Adamson track? He said sure. When I came back, l heard him playing and was completely blown away. I knew then and there, that we could work together using our different influences to create something unique.”

The EP is completed by the tracks “For the Shadows”, “For The Broken” and an orchestral remix of “Atmosphere” itself.

Bernard - Side-Line Staff

Chief editor of Side-Line – which basically means I spend my days wading through a relentless flood of press releases from labels, artists, DJs, and zealous correspondents. My job? Strip out the promo nonsense, verify what’s actually real, and decide which stories make the cut and which get tossed into the digital void. Outside the news filter bubble, I’m all in for quality sushi and helping raise funds for Ukraine’s ongoing fight against the modern-day axis of evil.

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