I suppose in these ice-bound economic waters, it pays to be adaptable. To supplement the day-job with some creative moonlighting. To play handyman instead of artisan. To add as many strings as your bow will take.

That being the case, Mike Mormecha is a man who’d grace anyone’s lifeboat.
The 24-year-old Lisburn native will turn his hand to anything.
As a founding member of indie-favourites Mojo Fury, he’s developed a happy knack for spinning out arms-in-the-air anthems. More recently, however, he’s also been gaining much favourable attention for his solo project – Clown Parlour. If Mojo deal in vivid primary colours, Clown Parlour is a much more muted and subtle proposition. Mormecha’s debut EP ...Introducing Clown Parlour is a brief but intriguing collection of songs, that, while being primarily propelled by the spirit of Elliot Smith and other US lo-fi heroes, also displays a nascent (and highly encouraging) sense of musical adventure – referencing classical orchestration, country, even Eastern European folk.
Mormecha, it’s clear, sees no reason to put a limit on the destinations he can travel to.
“My grandfather’s from Ukraine,” he says. “He came to live in Britain in 1942, so you can imagine how amazing a back story he has. It’s an aspect of my background that I’ve always been fascinated by. Even when I was a kid, I can remember getting a tape recorder and asking him to tell me all about his past. So, yeah, I love that music too – the old folk songs he grew up with. I’m no expert but it’s something I’m definitely going to find out more about. And I want the music I write to be capable of accommodating those kinds of things. I’m pretty open to experimenting with as many different styles as I can.”
Early reactions have been highly encouraging. Peter Fleming, formerly bass player with Scheer and the man behind Schism Records, offered to manage Mormecha after hearing some early demos, while both Huw Stephens of Radio One and 2fm’s Dan Heggarty have championed the EP on their shows. Ricky Warwick, front-man with metal giants The Almighty, meanwhile, was so enamoured he invited Clown Parlour to provide support during his recent solo Irish tour.
“That was an incredible experience,” smiles Mike. “Ricky’s an amazing man, and it was just a thrill to hang out and play with him night after night like that. It was an interesting juxtaposition. He’s played massive stadiums and arenas throughout his career, but he’s doing this thing now, really stripped back, where it’s like he’s starting from scratch. And I really am starting from scratch. So, in a funny way, we were both in new territory. So, we just toured around Ireland, playing tiny little venues – some nights there wasn’t a great turn-out, but on others we had a real blast. I’d a ball.”
Mormecha claims that his Clown Parlour material is a product of his “bedroom boy” tendencies, but given how much he obviously enjoyed the bonhomie generated during his stint on the road with Warwick, it’s clear that he isn’t keen on heading out too far on his own.
In fact, with most of his energies at the moment focused on the completion of Mojo Fury’s debut album (being produced by Rocky Oppeinheimer at Start Together in the Oh Yeah Building), he sees little reason not to keep on juggling both.
“They’re two different things,” he ventures. “I think with Mojo, we’re really focused on getting the album right and making sure the songs are tight and immediate. It’s all about adrenaline really. The chemistry thing. I could bring in a song, but everyone has a say, and by the end it will have gone off in a direction I’d never have imagined. The solo stuff is more a case of me just going off in whatever direction I feel like. It’s pretty easy accommodating both. I mean you can go off and sit in the park on your own reading a book. Then, later on, go out and get wrecked with your mates. It’s the same thing. ”
With a short solo tour planned for later in the year, and news just through that Mojo Fury will support In Case Of Fire on their upcoming slew of gigs, it promises to be a hectic time for Mormecha. Judging by the size of his grin, it’s not a schedule that’s going to prove much of a stress.
“I’m really looking forward to it all. I mean I pretty much rushed the CD out so I’d have something to take with me on tour. It’s taken on a life I never really expected. So, I’m just looking forward to seeing what’s going to happen next.”