The Dissociatives were an Australian alternative rock band consisting of Daniel Johns of Silverchair and dance producer and DJ Paul Mac (of Itch-E and Scratch-E), which formed in mid-2003. They were supported by touring members, Julian Hamilton and Kim Moyes (both from the Presets), and James Haselwood. Their first single, "Somewhere Down the Barrel" (March 2004), peaked at No. 25 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The duo's debut album, The Dissociatives (4 April 2004), reached No. 12 on the ARIA Albums Chart. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2004 they won two trophies: Best Cover Art for James Hackett's work on The Dissociatives and Best Video for Hackett's direction of "Somewhere Down the Barrel".
1997-2002: I Can't Believe It's not Rock
The Dissociatives' founders, Daniel Johns of Silverchair and Paul Mac of Itch-E and Scratch-E met in 1997 when Mac remixed Silverchair's track, "Freak". Later that year Mac appeared on-stage with Johns' group in Sydney as a guest DJ. In the following year Mac contributed keyboards to Silverchair's album Neon Ballroom. In 2000, during their respective bands' hiatus, Johns and Mac recorded a track at Mac's home studio in Blue Mountains. Later Mac travelled to Merewether to help Johns install an eight-track home studio, where they recorded more tracks. Mac later explained, "When we were making this music we never thought anybody else would ever hear it. It was just stuff we were doing for ourselves. Once it was done though we liked how it had turned out so we started talking about releasing it even though, as the name suggests, it probably isn't what people expect from either of us."
Both Johns and Mac were signed to Eleven: A Music Company, which issued, I Can't Believe It's not Rock online. It is the first release by the new label and was co-produced by Johns and Mac. The five tracks were streamed for free from their website, icantbelieveitsnotrock.com and were available for paid download. A limited number of CDs were available through Silverchair's fan club, the LAS. The group appeared in ABC-TV's drama series, Love Is a Four Letter Word (2001), as a pub band in "Episode 13" and performed material from the EP.
I Can't Believe Its not Rock
All songs written by Daniel Johns and Paul Mac.
- "Rain" – 4:47
- "Take Her Out" – 3:02
- "3" – 2:39
- "Staging a Traffic Jam" – 6:32
- "Home" – 6:48
2003–2005: The making of The Dissociatives album and hiatus
In mid-2003, Johns and Mac formed the Dissociatives as an alternative rock duo, They recorded basic tracks in London, finishing them off in Sydney and Newcastle. The pair produced all the instrumental tracks and vocals themselves with Johns writing lyrics and recording them in Newcastle. Johns described its music and lyrics in the Australian edition of Rolling Stone (April 2004): "The music is, for me, a combination of excitement, happiness, rambunctiousness and viciousness, done to whimsy." "I'd add with a hint of melancholy, but it's more outweighed by joy," added Mac.
This duo's first single "Somewhere Down the Barrel" appeared ahead of the album in March 2004 and peaked at No. 25 on the ARIA Singles Chart. The album reached No. 12 on the related ARIA Albums Chart.
The pair, in an interview on Rove Live in 2004, described the musical journey of the Dissociatives, as "definitely not a side project" and that they plan to release more music in the future. However, the band have been on hiatus since 2005 due to focussing on their main projects (Silverchair, the Presets, Johns' solo work), and they have not provided plans for future recordings or performances.
Discography and appearances
Studio albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:16em;"| Album details
! scope="col" colspan="1"| Peak chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:12em;"| Certifications
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUS<br/>
|-
! scope="row"| The Dissociatives
|
- Released: 5 April 2004
- Label: Eleven: A Music Company (ELEVENCD23)
- Formats: CD
| 12
|
- ARIA: Gold
|}
Video albums
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of Video albums
! scope="col" rowspan="1" style="width:16em;"| Title
! scope="col" rowspan="1" style="width:16em;"| Album details
|-
! scope="row"| Sydney Circa 2004/08
|
- Released: 18 October 2004
- Label: Eleven: A Music Company/EMI
- Format: DVD
|-
|}
Extended plays
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of Extended plays
! scope="col" rowspan="1" style="width:16em;"| Title
! scope="col" rowspan="1" style="width:16em;"| Album details
|-
! scope="row"| I Can't Believe It's not Rock <br> (As I Can't Believe It's not Rock)
|
- Released: December 2000
- Label: Eleven: A Music Company
- Format: CD
|}
Singles
{| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" border="1"
|+ List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:19em;"| Title
! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:1em;"| Year
! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart positions
! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Album
|-
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| AUS<br />
|-
| Best Group ||
|-
| Best Pop Release ||
|-
| Best Cover Art ||
|-
| Daniel Johns & Paul Mac for The Dissociatives | Producer of the Year ||
|-
| James Hackett for "Somewhere Down the Barrel" || Best Video ||
|-
|2005 || Sydney Circa 2004/08 || Best Music DVD || ||