“Today I'll be getting a burger and looking at a lot of YouTube video clips, scrolling through the internet and watching puppies.”
Brendan Maclean sounds like your typical Gen-Y consumer, but dig a little deeper and you'll find a vulnerable 27-year-old Australian singer-songwriter, with quite a story to tell. He's headlining Backbone's annual 2high Festival, in a performance that integrates the seemingly very different elements of music and science.
Brendan found his muse at 12 years old in martial arts class, catching a glimpse of what would soon pave the path to his future. “I was doing karate, and I remember I was going for my purple belt, and I looked across the hall and there was this group of about 30 people wearing these amazing bold vinyl jackets,” he says.
“They were horrible in retrospect, but at the time as a very queer 12-year-old I was like 'ahhh, I am all about that', so I quit martial arts that day and became a dancer, pretty much just for the costumes.
“What I'm saying is, none of my music has integrity, I do it all for the visuals,” he jokes.
After experimenting with a myriad of different artistic expressions, he finally found something that he was able to express himself with: songwriting.
In a world full of people talking over each other and colliding wild ideas with crazy opinions, Brendan found his voice by writing lyrics born deep within, presenting listeners with an honest insight into the life of a man longing to be seen as genuine.
Jobless and desperate for a sign, Brendan started working as a clown at Luna Park “juggling and shit” before he put an original song on Triple J's Unearthed platform. He was discovered and adopted by the radio presenters, who welcomed him into their studio to present.“It all started because I put my own song up, and it all ended because I was like 'that's probably enough presenting other people's music, I think it's my turn to say what I feel'.” In saying this, he also reassures that it was “the coolest six years of my life.”
After performing in 'Velvet' – a show with Marcia Hines that toured Australia and abroad – Brendan is returns home to continue his passion for performance and stun Brisbane at 2high Festival, a wild hybrid of music, ideas, art and science.
His performance will be a musical one, of course, but this year the festival has thrown science in the mix for the first time ever, exploring themes involving: earth, nature, human beings and life itself.
“They're going to be strapping me up to heart monitors and brainwave monitors, watching how my body reacts on stage,” he says, fascinated. “I'm going to have a scientist from Sydney coming up with me, working out how the body reacts to singing a ballad, how it reacts to singing a cover, a pop song, or maybe singing about an ex-boyfriend.”
Brendan was mildly apprehensive upon being presented with this strange concept, but says he was sold when he heard 2high is a youth arts festival by and for young creatives. “They're actually people that have new ideas, it's not just us rehashing things... These are important ideas which young people have come up with.”
He believes today's youth has amazing potential, and often reflects on advice given to him in the past. “If you're young, you are probably so far in front of the game and the industry, that you feel like you're behind... But it's the other way round,” he says. “The industry will catch up if you just keep doing what you're good at.”
The reaction of science to art is something that has rarely been explored, and 2high promises to bring new and exciting ways of thinking and performing to the forefront. Brendan, on the other hand, wants people to look at themselves on a deeper level, and leave his performance with a clearer understanding of what lies within.
“I want the audience to think about all the performances and all the media that they absorb through their day, whether it's TV, film, theatre or music, and I want people to think about what being vulnerable and genuine is,” he urges.The performance will bring new meaning to the phrase 'stripped back', metaphorically lifting the curtain and allowing Brendan's audience to experience not only the music, but the complex brain of an artist that pours his heart and soul into every lyric he writes.
“It's basically strapping me up to a lie detector and asking me if I have integrity as a performer,” he says, nervously. “The audience will be able to see right through me, and I think it's really fascinating.”
Fans of Brendan can look forward to this incredibly intricate and in-depth project, as well as an upcoming album. As for what's next on Brendan's agenda, he has one clear goal. “I'm just trying to be the best damn queer pop idol I can be for Australia.”
Bredan Maclean performs Backbone's 2high Festival Of Art, Science And Ideas will take place at Metro Arts 15-17 January.
