Techno Westerns share an identity crisis in their enigmatic synth-pop single Mystery Man — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
Ethereal vocals about losing yourself and a multitude of carefully layered synths make it impossible not to dance to this preview of the Toronto pop outfit’s upcoming release Midnight, an EP of music meticulously crafted by New Zealand ex-pat Wyatt Hautonga.
“Mystery Man at face value is supposed to be a Halloween song,” Hautonga says. “But once you push that aside, it’s more the tale of someone losing their sense of self.” The song stems from Hautonga’s own experience of questioning what behaviours were a defence mechanism to keep others out vs. a genuine reflection of personality. “I think as someone not from Canada originally and having tried to both adapt to and adopt the many norms of North America while keeping hold of my own NZ culture. I’ve started feeling like an imposter in my own skin, where it seems like you’re lying to yourself no matter how honest you think you’re being.”
Mystery Man exists in a world where everyone encourages authenticity but is seemingly going through the same crisis of self — a sentiment Hautonga brilliantly captures in his lyrics:
“Where’s your humour, guy?
You used to laugh and smile at all these silly quеstions
Are you telling lies?
You fool thеm all the time but now you’re also guessing”
Techno Westerns’ sense of artistic innovation extends all the way to the recording process. The song’s vocals, along with the mixing, were done by Hautonga in his car while sitting in a Cineplex parking lot. “The band came along after I was done with everything, and from there they started learning their parts and getting the song ready for live.”
All the tracks on Midnight were written and performed solely by Hautonga except for Cold Shoulder, which features Sean Rattan on bass and Joshua Napal on guitar, and Dutch Angle, which was co-written by Rattan, who adds synth on the track. All tracks were mixed and mastered by Hautonga at home.
In 2015, Hautonga was busy finding bandmembers instead of taking his studies in audio engineering seriously. During this time, he recorded the songs that would make up In Transition (2018), a set of immediate, unflinching demos which would lay the foundation for Techno Westerns’ sound. By 2018, Hautonga had moved to Toronto and joined forces with local musicians for the Kia Ora EP (2019) and Memento Mori (2020), using 1980s pop grandeur to examine isolation and desperation amid late-night debauchery. Techno Westerns followed up with Lover Boy (2021), a frizzy and flippant pop opus that saw Hautonga come into his own both creatively and musically.
Coming off a summer of sold-out shows, a NXNE appearance and a headlining slot at Horseshoe Tavern, Techno Westerns are ready to dive into a busy 2023 with their new EP and two tours already planned.
Check out Mystery Man above, hear more from Techno Westerns below, and meet them at their website and Instagram.
