NEW SINGLE: General Mack's Grapeshot 'Carnival of Stars' + Announces Revel, Revel Album
General Mack’s Grapeshot releases new single 'Carnival of Stars'
+ announces debut album Revel, Revel
+ single launch show
After debuting his first single 'Grenades and Stomach Flu', multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter, and producer General Mack’s Grapeshot (GMG) is back with a new taste of his fuzzed out riffs and grunge guitar in his new single 'Carnival of Stars'. Out Wednesday 30 October, this new track is lifted from his debut album Revel, Revel which is slated for release on Friday 27 February 2025. In celebration of the release, General Mack will launch the single at Brunswick Artists’ Bar on Saturday 16 November.
‘Carnival of Stars’ is accompanied by a video that explores the track's themes through mirror reflections and different props, seeing both the set and set design, all in black and white. “We had three main quotes from novelist Alan Garner’s ‘Treacle Walker’ in mind with every decision for the video clip: ‘What is out is in. What is in is out’, ‘I can’t tell you what is real, and what isn’t’, and ‘For at the very moment you have now. It flees. It is gone. It is, on the instant, then” - Laura May Grogan, Director
Filmed through mirrored reflections and cheeky distortions, the art direction and cinematic movements play with the concept of what is real in a constructed reality where nothing really is. Only the final seconds show the artist unobstructed by the apparatuses of the clip, and that, of course, is not really real. "Carnival of Stars explores themes of escapism and anti-realism, teasing reality with skewed absurdist reflections. I wanted the delivery skip along until transporting the listener to a wondrous, dreamy ‘carnival’ in the extended finish." - Mitchy McIvor, General Mack’s Grapeshot
Revel, Revel was largely tracked during excursions to Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula – isolated and with Port Phillip Bay as a calming backdrop, the record took shape. The space, time, and seclusion allowed hours of experimentation with sounds and recording techniques. There are guitar-drenched moments, familiar with McIvor’s previous work. Still, instead of conventional arrangements, the accompanying rhythm section is layered with drum loops and applies synth bass and cinematic textures to several songs. In addition to a car full of his familiar guitars and amps, two pieces of equipment were added on these trips, a Yamaha Reface DX and Roland TR-808, that took the album to new places. Revel, Revel was mixed by local producer Robert Muinos (Didirri, Julia Jacklin, Jess Locke, Nat Vazer), the two connecting over an appreciation for bold mixing selections, and written, recorded, and performed by McIvor, with the added exception of a very sweet contribution from his nieces and nephews on the track ‘Magpie, Magpie’.
General Mack’s Grapeshot allowed Melbourne multi-instrumentalist Mitchy McIvor to deliver his long-term intention of producing his own music. Sharing a ‘Mac’ like Mitchy McIvor’s ‘Mc’, General Mack, an Austrian general most remembered for commanding an embarrassing surrender to Napoleon, was an unlikely inspiration for the project’s name. Having played in numerous bands in Melbourne and LA, including Cannon and Damndogs, Mitchy McIvor drew on the familiar guitar drenched moments from his previous work creating cinematic textures with drum loops and oscillating synth bass. With scrapbooks filled with notes, phrases, and conversation, General Mack’s Grapeshot’s music takes inspiration from novels, short stories and poetry, drawing on dominant production techniques inspired by the works of Beck, The Kills, St Vincent, Danger Mouse, Serge Gainsbourg, and the War on Drugs.
Be the first to experience General Mack’s ‘Carnival of Stars’, and don’t miss your opportunity to see him live this November.
'Carnival of Stars' is out Wednesday 30 October:
Presave via Gyrostream + Bandcamp
Revel, Revel out Friday 27 February 2025
Upcoming Shows:
Saturday 26 October
Tanswells Beechworth w Liam Wright
Free Entry
Event Link
Carnival of Stars Single Launch
Saturday 16 November
Brunswick Artists Bar
Supports: Nina Leo + Central Rain