GREEDY BOTTOM OF THE CENTURY
IN THE CONTEST FOR AUSTRALIA’S NEWEST POP PRINCESS, BRENDAN MACLEAN STEALS THE TITLE, SASH AND TIARA! THE ECCENTRIC PROTÉGÉ GIVES JESSE ARCHER A SCENT OF DESPERATION, THE CURE FOR DEPRESSION AND ADVICE ON HOW TO FIND YOUR OWN GAY UNCLES.
DNA: Hi Brendan, is this a good time? Brendan Maclean: Oh yes. I’d like to point out first and foremost in this interview that there is a naked man cooking in the opposite apartment block. So if I seem distracted, it’s because, well… penis. How’s his beef ? He’s no Fassbender, but perhaps he is more of the grower rather than show-er variety and I respect that. Fair enough. You’ve been a busy boy, even performing after Kylie Minogue at a surprise show at the Beresford. Weirdest evening ever. Nobody told me who the secret guest was until I was at sound check. When word got out, radio-stations started calling, friends were begging to get in and enemies suddenly became friends! Did Kylie give you any backstage shade? I found her so charming; strutting the dressing room to deliver a few glittery kisses. We talked about phlegm and which alcoholic beverage may cure it – whiskey. What else did you get up to at Mardi Gras? Do you think Mardi Gras, or gay pride, is still relevant? Pride is indeed relevant. Delta Goodrem on an Oral-B float, not so much. Mardi Gras comes and goes in your life, some years you need it and some years you just accept it’s not really there for you. The whole #TheresOnlyOneParty thing irked me. The “official” after-party is pretty beige and whoever is on the board should be aiming to get the smaller parties on the official listing, like the incredible debut of LOVECULT 2000, which I played at The Metro (also featuring Boris Of Berghain, Jonny Woo and Mojo Juju.) Don’t get me wrong, I understand the need for corporate sponsorship but there is good, like the ANZ gAyTMs and then there is Fitness First telling people they are out of shape at Fair Day. I mean, really? Up yours, Fitness First. Besides fat fascism, what is the biggest issue now facing the gay community? Rising HIV rates in young gay males. That, and the threat of more PR stunts by James “Jamie Jackson” Brechney. Give us a month off, babe! Your new album, Population, is a lot of fun. Actually, you seem like a whole lot of fun. Where did you grow up and did you always have this creative flair about you? I am creative in spite of where I grew up, the Sutherland Shire. That place is awful and full of hateful people like [Australian Immigration Minister] Scott Morrison. It was probably a defence mechanism when it started, hiding away in the music rooms to avoid the playground, but now creating is the default for me. I’m not sure what other people do. I assume behind every accountant is a brilliant album about tax fraud or a stage show about money laundering. For some reason, humans love labels. Why is that and how would you label your music? Population is all about Pop. Electro-Pop, Folk- Pop, Rock-Pop, bubble-wrap. On a scale of one to glitterbomb, how gay are you? How does that influence your sound? I’m pretty homo, but I’m too lazy to pull off permanent fabulous. Like my nails are pink but I wear Doc Martins every single day. My wrists are limp, but I’ll gladly knock back a Bundy at the pub. But yeah, I’m probably not about to win Dom Top Of The Year award, more like Greedy Bottom Of The Century. As for its influence, perhaps it alters my listening patterns. When I started writing, the only “gay” music I knew of was Rufus Wainwright and the Scissor Sisters but eventually you stop aiming to sound like what you’re listening to. Which is a good move when you consider that sound already exists.
Being gay is one of those rare minorities where your parents don’t usually share the discrimination, so finding your logical family is just as important as trying to get along with the biological.
Stereogamous [queer mixers Paul Mac and Jonny Seymour] call you their protégé. How were you discovered? They are my gay uncles. They found me on Twitter. I caught up for a beer with Paul and Nathan from [Aussie rock band] Faker – I was a double fan-boy in one day! – and had a demo of what would become our first single, Stupid, on my iPad. Paul straight out said, “I’m going to produce that.” I’m exceptionally lucky to be a part of Jonny and Paul’s life. Both of them are profoundly important to the Sydney music, fashion and art scenes, and to me personally. Being gay is one of those rare minorities where your parents don’t usually share the discrimination, so finding your logical family is just as important as trying to get along with the biological. How long does one remain a protégé? They’ve got some pretty exciting plans for the year so for now I’m happy to be singing on the b-sides and taking cues. I’m sure I’ll go on my own little path again one day, but why rush? What we’re making lately is beautiful. How do you think you would make them the proudest? Like any family, I think they just want to see me happy, making music I love surrounded by the people I love. And maybe a few more gigs with Kylie. You mention gay uncles and it seems that all younger gays could use mentors who aren’t after them sexually. Or are they after you sexually? The relationship between me and any of my mentors-come-avuncular-gays has always been non-sexual, even though they all are sexy mofos! So how would you recommend younger gays go about connecting with the older generation as mentors? The tricky part is, unless you plan to throw some kind of guncle [gay uncle] talent quest, you probably aren’t mixing in the same circles as the people who can give you guidance without preying upon you. I suppose a tip might be to focus less on finding someone homosexual and more on finding an intellectual adult who works in your field. Heaven forbid I stereotype, but if you’re into making camp pop music like me or perhaps interior decorating with a focus in pastels then there’s a good chance your idols might be of the homosexual persuasion. Reach out, make contact; if you’re worried about sexual advancements, maybe your search hasn’t ended yet. Have you ever considered a stage name? No, but I’ve considered some drag names: Oz Blotto or Rachel Abuse. Vote now! Your track Winner is totally upbeat but talks about how you’ll never be a winner. Would you call yourself a cynic, or are you just checking to see if people are paying attention to the lyrics? This bundle of songs was particularly bitter. I’d just quit my job at [radio station] Triple J and was growing impatient with the world. Call it delayed angst, but there was definitely some venom to expel. Winner was pretty much directed at another singer/songwriter who consistently one-upped any kind of success I was having. Now that the rage has dropped it’s amusing to watch Winner consistently come runner-up in about a billion different song contests. It’s all delightfully apt and not at all ironic. The video features you on a football field quickly losing all your clothes. And I didn’t eat for like a week – so Karen Carpenter of me. But it’s screened in the reverse of the order it’s filmed. How did you come up with this concept? It was a collaboration between Karl Eccleston, Brian Fairbairn and myself. They’ve gone on to do great things in film in London and I’m not at all seething with jealousy. One of your fans commented about the video clip, “Somehow, it makes me feel >>
>> like everything’s going to go wrong and that’s the best possible scenario.” Was that your intention? My intention was just to take my clothes off, really. Everything else that happened was a bonus. What’s the most personal track on Population for you? Not Your Call is the stand out for me. It came at a time when I thought Paul Mac might give up on working with me. I was delivering a lot of shitty folk songs and nothing stuck. I always knew I could write marketable pop songs but Not Your Call was the first time I wrote something and thought, I would want to listen to this. In Stupid, you sing, “If you weren’t so stupid, I could have loved you.” Who are you talking to? Stupid is about [gay Aussie comedian, Josh Thomas’ ex] Tom Ballard. Bastard. How do you come up with these amazing lyrics? What’s your songwriting process? They’re not all amazing, every songwriter has a Madonna American Life moment in their library. But I’ve always been of the Lily Allen school of songwriting. I’ll play a tune until I’m bopping along and then just say what I’m thinking. I don’t doubt that this time next year there will be a lot more lyrics that resemble the menu at my local Thai restaurant, including a Massaman curry rap break down. Is it important for you to make a personal song universal? It’s not. Songwriters are really self-absorbed jerks. Despite anything you’ve heard about “doing it for the fans”, the truth is we write songs to soothe our own pain or expel our own anger. Of course the flip-side is that the more honest you are with yourself the more likely it is that someone else will hear it
Songwriters are really self-absorbed jerks. Despite anything you’ve heard about “doing it for the fans”, the truth is we write songs to soothe our own pain or expel our own anger.
and think, “that exact same thing happened to me.” Being vague and universal might get you a commercial for hand lotion but a lyric about the time you were broken up with in a hotel room by text will break somebody’s heart in a billion pieces… in a good way. Tell us about Day For Night? It was one of the things Mardi Gras got very right this year! A collaboration between Performance Space, Mardi Gras and Stereogamous saw a bundle of the absolute stars of our art scene, like Justin Shoulder and Lillian Star, creating unique durational artworks in the space. The whole thing culminated with a giant party where I was lucky enough to belt out some tunes among the art. Melbourne is traditionally Australia’s arts capitol. What brought you back to Sydney? Lockout laws aside, Sydney has been pretty sexy lately. I’ve never been a part of a creation like Day For Night, so between the strength of groups like Performance Space and FBi Radio, artists should be proud to say they come from Sydney. Also, I missed my gay uncles too damn much. What’s your role in the film, Tracks? Tracks is the true story of Robyn Davidson’s journey across the Australian desert with nothing but a few camels. I play one of Robyn’s [Mia Wasikowska] annoying city mates who turns up with Rick Smolan [Adam Driver from
When I started writing, the only “gay” music I knew of was Rufus Wainwright and the Scissor Sisters but eventually you stop aiming to sound like what you’re listening to. Which is a good move when you consider that sound already exists.
Girls]. I think my role has been whittled down to that of an overpaid extra but that’s okay because I got to hang out with Adam Driver on a ranch for a week and that boy has abs that just don’t quit. Boom. Is Adam Driver the very definition of uglyhot? That nose. The places I’d let that giant wonderful nose go. You have a national tour coming up. Any surprises in store? Chance Waters has invited me to support him on his national tour and I look forward to completely overshadowing him – love you, Chance! There will be dancers, costume changes; there will be confetti cannons. I gave the solo guy on piano thing a whirl so I figured it was time to go a little berserk. I have nothing to lose but dignity. We hear you’re going away in June. Whereabouts and what for? Europe is calling. It’s time to give Australia a rest from my seemingly endless run of popping up and singing two songs. Also my brain needs to be expanded to keep the music fresh and my career growing, which is tricky to do in our tiny little box of a country. You either go overseas or get beaten up by a cop and release a terrible song about it a year later. Are you single or romantically occupied? Single and ready to Lara Bingle! Actually, I’m taken but if you ask my boyfriend real nice maybe we can set up a time-share? [Lara Bingle is an Australian “model” and serial celebrity dater]. Baz Luhrmann says you’re a modern-day Mick Jagger. Wouldn’t you rather Freddie Mercury? Baz Luhrmann could call me Miss Piggy and I’d still be over the moon. What’s your spirit animal? Is an Espresso Martini an animal? If you had a fragrance, what would you call it and what notes would it have? “Desperate” by Brendan Maclean, with notes of house wine and kebab. You’ve written on your FB page: “Please if you are depressed surround yourself with laughter. If anything you will laugh against your emotional will and your body will remember why it feels good to feel good.” Have you suffered depression and is this one of the reasons you write and perform? Sure, I think most people have suffered depression at some point. I spent a lot of 2013 in a rut. Career-wise I was fine, but off the page I was living from couch to couch, lying to my band and had fallen deep into chronic relationship addiction. I was doing anything to knock myself out: stealing drugs, staying drunk for weeks at a time and playing the shittiest gigs in the world to stay preoccupied. But I’m lucky to have friends brave enough to call me out on my crap. They got me help, intervened, but most of all they made me laugh – which I love them for. What’s the creepiest fan story you have? Ever since supporting [Savage Garden’s] Darren Hayes there have been people who talk at me on online about their days in absolutely every detail: what they buy, who they call, what they’re watching on TV. It’s endless. The thought that someone I’ve never met is making a cheese jaffle and stops to think, I’d better tell Brendan about this is a tad bit odd but now I’d probably be lonely if I didn’t know what Janet from Johannesburg was having for brunch. Do you have a mantra? I don’t, but if I did you’d be pretty inspired right now.