Chris McCarter

Chris McCarter, vocalist with the acclaimed Australian goth band IKON, resurfaces in a quite unexpected manner, with four songs (and a remix) recorded during solo sessions with Melbourne-based pop-blues-Americana multli-instrumentalist/producer Mic Hubbard earlier this year.

Atmosphere is titled for its opening track, an audacious 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.”

It was also a song that he was convinced could never convincingly “be moved into another space”. Producer Hubbard, however, succeeded – this is a Joy Division cover that truly comes close to rivaling the original for impact.

Another favorite 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 lilting “For the Shadows” – a summertime song for the gothically inclined; and the foreboding “For The Broken”; before wrapping up with a superlative orchestral remix of “Atmosphere” itself.

The result is a remarkable, transportive collection of songs and moods, and one that is sure to thrill both long-time IKON fans and newcomers to Chris McCarter’s fascinating world.

DIGITAL: https://orcd.co/chrismccarter_atmosphere

Track listing