Mr Clean

Though the true identity of Mr Clean is unknown, some facts about his life can be stated here. He is a self-taught music producer from Sydney, Australia, who recorded two albums of lo-fi pop music in 1999 and 2001 and released them on his own label, Cat Tent Press. Inspired by sample-based music of the period, Mr Clean chose to emulate downtempo electronica in the most inconvenient way imaginable, by making tape loops of drums, bass, guitars, keyboards and found records and tapes, playing them back on walkmans connected to a mixer and effects, and hoping against all odds that they would stay in sync. The results have a shambolic charm and surreal appeal, heard to best effect on tracks like ‘Cat Hair’, ‘Under the House’ and ‘How To Pick Up a Pigeon’ from his 2001 release, ‘The Hot Day’.