Press release
McCully/Mackay announce new single The Mystery Man
Cape Town duo McCully/Mackay are pleased to announce their new single ‘The Mystery Man’.
“The Mystery Man explores paranoia and surveillance in the modern era, in a light-hearted manner” says Tully, “we are all familiar with the current issues of surveillance and privacy and feelings of isolation and paranoia, but we wanted to do a more playful and nostalgic take.”
The upbeat track has a retro feel, drawing thematic inspiration from old spy movies and film noir and sonically recalls the 80s sounds of The Police and the melodic paranoia of Men at Work’s “Who can it be now?”
As has become a hallmark of the band, the track features many subtle layers of instrumentation and is propelled by a solid rhythm section that echoes the building tension and intensity of the protagonist.
The song also features Gordon on lead vocals, he says “When Tully and I were discussing Mystery Man, Spy Vs Spy was mentioned. Fortunately I had a very good upbringing reading Mad Magazines and listening to the Goon Shows so the theme for the song flowed into place relatively easily.”
‘The Mystery Man’ is taken from the band’s forthcoming second album, which will be released later in the year.
The single is available now on all digital platforms.
Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R53PSxKlYeo
Music Video:
Video Thumbnail:
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Streaming links:
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/track/6qegvUYoIyWC14ldEpRPX9?si=9aac9a6e3bfe4722&nd=1
Apple Music: https://music.apple.com/us/album/the-mystery-man-single/1624419988
Deezer: https://www.deezer.com/en/album/318975417
Album Art:
Publishing Info:
Released on Mountain Records © 2022
Published by Songwrights Publishers
Produced by Terence McCullagh
Composer: Tully McCully
Social Links:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mccullymackayband/
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC6oxXLqTEYyxVgH0L-Y3Z1A
Website: https://mccullymackay.wordpress.com
Twitter: https://twitter.com/McCullyMackay
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McCully/Mackay band bio:
Short (100 words)
Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Tully McCully is a legend in the South African music scene with many hits to his name, both with his own band and other artists. Gordon Mackay is a British classically schooled virtuoso electric keyboard player, known for his involvement in the Johannesburg prog/rock scene with his brother Duncan as well as his compositions for film, TV and ballet.
After sharing the stage for several years as part of McCully Workshop, the two veteran musicians have now come together under their own names, creating music that is complex, arresting and at once personal and universal.
Full
Multi-instrumentalist, songwriter and producer Tully McCully is a legend in the South African music and advertising scene. Recording and producing for decades from his Spaced Out Sound Studios, he has many hits to his name, both with his own band, McCully Workshop, and other artists including Lesley Rae Dowling, Crocodile Harris, Falling Mirror and Zayn Adams.
Gordon Mackay is a British classically schooled virtuoso electric keyboard and fiddle player, known for his involvement in the Johannesburg prog/rock scene with his brother Duncan (who made a name for himself in the UK in the 1980s, notably with the band Cockney Rebel) as well as his compositions for film, TV and ballet. He continues to perform live and works as a session player.
Tully and Gordon have performed together in McCully Workshop since 2014, but now, as McCully/Mackay, are exploring a less commercial and more progressive sound, inspired by their shared love of the progressive artists of the 70s and 80s.
“I’ve wanted to work on a personal project for some time” says Tully, “in fact I decided to do it well before the Corona lockdown came along. I have been making music for different markets and in different styles for so many years and this time I am making it for myself – and anybody else that wants to hear what I personally love, stuff like like King Crimson, Yes and Emerson, Lake and Palmer.”
“Tully phoned me about a week after lockdown had started” says Gordon, “he asked if I’d be interested in doing some keyboard work and sent me a track. I listened to it and thought wow, this is really what I’d like to do.”
“Gordon’s a brilliant keyboard player” says Tully, “he’s got in his head exactly what I’m hearing; Moog Synthesisers, keyboards, mellotrons, Hammond – all the real organic stuff”.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic the duo collaborate remotely, working together yet independently to craft their songs from their respective home studios. Tully puts down a skeleton for each song with drums bass and a vocal track guide to which Gordon adds keyboards, organ and synths.
While this studio project done via correspondence in many ways allows for increased freedom and experimentation compared to collaborating in person, the duo still very much compose with live performance in mind. “I don’t do a lot of guitar overdubs – I do one guitar track, one bass track one drum track” says Tully, “and Gordon plays keyboards that he could actually replicate live. There’s no sequencing done or loops of any kind. Everything is played real, and if we can’t do it the first time we practise until we can play the lines.”
The result of their collaboration, 10-track debut album The Unicorns Are Screaming, is a body of work featuring musical virtuosity and powerful and engaging lyrics , that aptly reflects the passion, prowess and experience of these veteran musicians.
McCully/Mackay 