Biography
The partnership between Australian producer Paul Mac and Silverchair frontman Daniel Johns dates back to 1997, when Mac first contributed a remix to a track from Freak Show. Their ongoing creative rapport soon led Mac to supply keyboard work on the later Silverchair albums Neon Ballroom and Diorama. An experimental side effort titled I Can't Believe It's Not Rock! gave the pair room to explore ideas beyond the Silverchair banner, but only after the group entered an indefinite hiatus in 2003 did Johns devote himself entirely to the project that would become the Dissociatives. Recording basic tracks for the self-produced debut in London, the duo finished the sessions in Australia and delivered an offbeat fusion of electronics with pop melodies. Issued in spring 2004 amid considerable anticipation, the self-titled album reached gold certification behind the lead single "Somewhere Down the Barrel." Once a brief tour concluded, Johns returned to Silverchair to complete the band's fifth album, Young Modern, while Mac joined the lineup temporarily as a touring keyboardist, leaving the Dissociatives' next chapter unresolved yet preserving the longstanding musical link between the two.