Smiling Like a Rainbow, Burning Like an Asteroid:
Some collaborations spark quietly. Others ignite like celestial collisions—and Primary, the debut EP collab from Kate Stein & Lord Fascinator out now via Eskimo Recordings, is firmly in the latter category. Born out of silence, snowstorms, psychedelic detours, underwater crushes, and line dancing in LA, their partnership is a kaleidoscope of absurdity, sincerity, and deep creative chemistry.
Both visual and sonic artists, Kate Stein & Lord Fascinator aren’t just making music – they’re building strange, beautiful worlds where hirsute porpoises take baths, horse houses exist, and love can be found in the eye of a storm or the depths of a K-hole. Theirs is a universe where playfulness collides with emotional depth, and nothing is too surreal to be true.
We caught up with them to talk monsters, mantras, and mango-fueled DJ dreams. The result? A conversation as colorful and unpredictable as the music they make.
“Smiling like a rainbow, burning like an asteroid” – love this tagline. What does it feel like to live inside that lyric?
LF: Warm and fuzzy and still believing in love.
KS: I think we are both looking for love 😉
You met on a tropical island to make giant monsters. Was that as insane and magical as it sounds? Any near-death or spiritual awakening moments?
LF: It was incredibly magical but also, strangely, that experience led me to contemplate suicide not long after. Glad i didn’t! I guess the monsters lost.
KS: Ouch! It was a strange time, but a cool experience ~ we quickly dived into quite a few creative projects after that!
How would you describe the Primary EP?
LF: I always thought it was Frank Zappa who said “writing about music is like dancing to architecture” but i just looked it up and nobody seems to know the original author..
KS: HAHA – I tried to quote this the other day and totally butchered it….
Eskimo Recordings · Kate Stein & Lord Fascinator – Primary EP
Let’s talk about Chemistry – what sparked it? Was it a song born from a conversation, a trip, or a shared silence?
LF: I was sharing a lot of silence with myself when I wrote it. Holed up in the snow in Tuxedo Park all alone cooking on an old stove, keeping the fire burning all day and night. Most likely i was craving human connection.
KS: Johnny sent me some stems and I loved them, immediately diving into arranging and adding some synths…..I still think it should be the lead track on the EP.
Asteroid feels like a cosmic love letter written under the influence. What’s the wildest place you’ve ever fallen in love (or thought you did)?
LF: Underwater, he was a blue groper.
KS: I was in a psychedelic K-Hole (sorry mum!) – needless to say the LOVE did not last, and I dramatically lost a friendship over it! Oh well, life and love is a true journey 😉
Horse House… okay, what happened there? Who saw the horse first, and why is it still in the house?
LF: It was more of a hirsute porpoise in the bath but the alliteration just wasn’t there.
We were also both raised on country music. This is a lie.
KS: I was attending Stud Country Line Dancing in LA at the time (TRUE)….
There’s this delicious tension in your music between the absurd and the transcendent. How do you balance playfulness with emotional depth?
LF: That’s almost the ultimate human experience summed up in one question for me.
In my experience the absurd often leads to the transcendent.
I’m trying to laugh all the way to enlightenment enjoying the delicious tension along the way.
KS: Well said. We are Australians, we like to be silly.
What’s your songwriting process like – more ritualistic séance or chaotic jam session?
LF: Definitely both…then afterwards a continuously repeated mantra that is slowly improved upon until the contractions hit and we go into musical labour.
KS: It always involves coffee….
You’ve mentioned “Mad Max yoga retreats” and living in a castle turret. Is surreal living part of the creative method or just a happy side effect?
LF: Not intentional, just the way life seems to unfold for both of us. Being open to adventure probably helps.
KS: Life is (f)ART. I grew up in a house without walls or electricity, so I think this absurdity was instilled at an early age. Why be practical when you can be fantastical?!
If the Primary EP had a spirit animal, what would it be and why?
LF: I wasn’t sure why i mentioned a “hirsute porpoise” at the time in one of your previous questions but now i know why.
There’s a strong visual thread running through your work – from monsters to Martians. How do you approach translating music into imagery?
LF: Can only speak for myself here, but i always have a pretty good idea of how i want things to look and once i know a release is happening I immediately start on a moodboard. Shortlisting artists to approach informs refining that further and then after finally picking the artist it’s a matter of marrying the visual alphabet of your moodboard with their artistic language. Somehow this worked incredibly well with Chris who did the art for this release.
KS: I think Johnny and I are great collaborators together because we both work in the visual sphere, not just the sonic. We connect on levels outside of sound (making costumes, music videos, sets), and I think that really helped us put together a strong package (also why we loved working with Eskimo!).
You’ve both had fascinating journeys – from spatial design to rock bands and beyond. How have your past lives shaped the way you make music now?
LF: I’m not sure i believe in past lives but if i do i was probably Cleopatra.
KS: I think these other creative outlets help take the pressure of my music world….theres so many things I am excited and interested in, that I find it difficult to focus on one medium or channel. So yeah, sometimes things get a little scattered….but that’s part of the process.
Finally, what are your plans for the future?
LF: We have a few fresh, absurdly transcendent ideas we might finish and put out eventually. I’m also trying to get flown to some tropical resorts to DJ and eat mangoes.
KS: Yes, after Primary comes Secondary 😉 Aside from music, I am working on a new interior lighting project, but that is for another day.
Check out the Primary EP here.
And as a cherry on top, after the epic Horse House Remixes, their cosmic love song Asteroid received the remix treatment from Aeroplane, Eli Escobar, and BĘÃTFÓØT – each bringing their own stardust to the journey – out now via Eskimo Recordings. Find it here
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