IN THE CHARTS
23 times in the Global Top 40
TRACKS
3 times in the Global Top 40
2 times in the Global Top 40
7 times in the Global Top 40
VIDEOS
BLOGS
Crossfade: London, the 16th century, 2 actors & the Millenium Bridge. A love story?
Aug 2, 2025
355 views
Please join us on our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/macandgarsongs/ And Crossfade - NOW available FREE to all Ehnocloud members on Bandcamp - https://garyhurlstoneakasmilingknives1.bandcamp.com/track/crossfade
When you arrive at our Bandcamp page click on: Buy ...
This song was released on March 16th 2025 on Ethnocloud - the end of the journey :)
Jan 9th 2025 Part 1: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step" Tao Te Ching.
By way of introduction, I (the Gar part ...
Emotional strife, inner city isolation and er, fairgrounds: There must be a song in here somewhere!
Jan 5, 2025
489 views
Fairgrounds represent powerful reminders of my childhood. Memories of cold Autumn evenings - moments filled with anticipation, excitement pulsating through my young boy body as I walked towards the bright lights and sounds of a Fairground Night. I well remember the shadows of stark indu...
Trying to untangle the existential experience we call ‘love’ is not easy! Artists, be they writers’ poets, painters’ dancers or musicians have been attempting to capture the essence of this complex, mercurial, shape shifting emotion since we first became aware that it even existed...
PHOTOS
Photo by: Gary Hurlstone Aka Mac & Gar Songwriters
About: Studio March 2025 Finishing 'This Fairground Night Recordings'
ABOUT
Mac & Gar: Countless Horizons
I don't think we make a conscious effort to blur the boundaries between style/genre; this just happens, probably because of purposefully feeding ourselves on a performance diet of rock, folk, world, blues, New Romantic, and reggae. Result: We are a music cataloguer's nightmare!
We write songs because, hell, that's what we like doing, but in these times of corporate music influence, independent music making is often the only way to go. You get the freedom but...
I enjoy working with musicians from different cultures and backgrounds. My collaborations include a television appearance with Cai Yayi (Cai Yayi won the first prize in the Folk Song Solo Category in the Llangollen International Musical Eisteddfod 2010), and appearances with Song Yuzhe (Dawanngang), Li Daiguo, Wang Xiao, FM3, the talented Mongolian horse head fiddle player, Hugejiletu (Ajinai), and the Balkan-influenced, tango-loving violinist, Rael Solis May. My passion, though, has always been for folk/world/and crossover.
Mac has performed with prog rock band Grace (I was the bass player once upon a time), White Door (a successful new romantic band/electronic music) as well as a range of other bands with a variety of styles and influences. During his career, he has made TV appearances, played at many festivals, and his mainstay band, Grace, have followers throughout the world.
Music has given us both great times and sometimes got us through some troubled ones. I am pretty sure this is the same for many of us. Together we are currently mashing up styles under the name of Mac & Gar. We have previously performed together in successful rock bands before pursuing individual projects.
Our latest release, Cossfade, is the sixth song we have recorded together. Before this was "This Fairground Night," the fifth song, "Just My Heart and Soul," the fourth, "Aliens Don't Belong" (May 2024), a quirky look at the strangeness of strangers. In (Nov 2023), they were both in the Ethno Global charts—at number 1, "Aliens Don't Belong," and at No. 2, "Just Your Heart & Soul" during Dec 2024.
Gar:
In a varied and sometimes colorful career, I have toured China with a multicultural band (Mexican, Xinjiang, Mongolian, Chinese), busked on the Chinese underground, been banned from playing festivals by the PRC Communist Party, sang at the opening of a kitchen appliance shop, and appeared second on the bill to a singing dog! In addition, I have also played at major music festivals and events in Mongolia, China, and the UK.
My work follows in the folk tradition of telling stories through song. I try to capture the spirit and emotion of the subject, looking at the world through a different lens, using a little spare poetry to develop the dynamic. In the end, though, it is just about words and music, both of which I hope you enjoy.
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