20 Facts About Connan Mockasin

Connan Tant Hosford, better known by the stage name Connan Mockasin, is a New Zealand musician, composer and record producer.

Connan Mockasin was born in Napier, Hawke's Bay, and raised in Te Awanga.

Connan Mockasin gained his moniker from his childhood habit of making mocassin-like shoes out of sheepskin and old motorbike tyres.

Connan Mockasin moved to Wellington at the age of 20 to further his music career, and played in various bands until the formation of a group called 'Connan and The Mockasins' in 2006.

Connan Mockasin released his debut solo album in 2011, Forever Dolphin Love, to critical acclaim and success particularly in Europe.

Connan Mockasin has released a string of albums since then, the latest being 2021's Jassbusters Two, the "sequel" to his 2018 album Jassbusters.

Connan Mockasin has worked with Lawrence Arabia, Liam Finn, Dev Hynes, Mick Fleetwood, and MGMT, as well as his own father on the 2021 album It's Just Wind released through American label Mexican Summer.

Connan Mockasin has lived and worked in London, Lewes, Wellington, Manchester, Los Angeles and Tokyo.

Connan Mockasin is in a relationship with a Japanese glamour model and has one daughter.

Connan Mockasin was born in Napier in 1983, and raised in the "dinky wee settlement" of Te Awanga in Hawke's Bay, to father Ade Hosford, a musician formerly of Autumn Stone and Philharmonia Orange.

Connan Mockasin started his first band "The Four Skins" while attending Havelock North Intermediate School in 1995.

In 2003, after moving back to Wellington, Mockasin briefly played in a band called "The Hornery Stiffmen", consisting of Blake Pryor and Christopher Chalmers, before forming his principal New Zealand group "Connan and the Mockasins", named after Connan's interest in making his own shoes.

Connan Mockasin toured with Radiohead in Australia and New Zealand throughout November 2012, playing sold-out shows in Auckland, Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

Connan Mockasin announced the release of his second album, Caramel in September 2013.

Jassbusters will accompany a five-part film written and directed by Connan Mockasin called "Bostyn 'n Dobsyn", which took an alleged 20 years to develop, and reached its current form after a 10-day shoot in Los Angeles in July 2016.

Connan Mockasin's music is known for its unconventional subject matter, themes, styles and instrumentation; he has been positively labelled as openly "weird", and a pioneer of "trippy, mutated soul".

Connan Mockasin featured on MGMT's 2018 album Little Dark Age and can be seen in the music video for the album's title track.

Connan Mockasin featured on Justice's 2024 album Hyperdrama, on the track Explorer.

Connan Mockasin is in a relationship with a Japanese glamour model Hiromi Oshima; the couple have one daughter.

Connan Mockasin helped Karen Walker launch her first eyewear collection for men called Monumental.