Children Collide [pictured right] are the sound of here and now; a sound that crackles with the smarts of a band that has an undeniable send of where they have been, and where they are going. Released into the material world at a Halloween show in the spring of 2004, Children Collide have grasped the term meteoric rise and disfigured it into a thrilling, unpredictable premise.

Hatched by Johnny Mackay (vocals/guitar) & Heath Crawley (bass), the induction of drummer Ryan Caesar in 2007 cemented the line-up and, dare we say it, the rest is history. The ensuing years have seen Children Collide overtake sweatbox club stages, television broadcasts and festival arenas with equal ferocity.

Having unleashed two very well-received EP’s in the years that formed the infancy of the outfit Children Collide’s long awaited debut album The Long Now, released in 2008 is the truly cinematic effort. Having the good fortune to work alongside the incomparable Dave Sardy. The Long Now yields a textured landscape of themes and sounds. It is Children Collide 101.

Ahead of their appearance at the One Movement Music Festival in October 2010, One Movement Word caught up with Children Collide’s singer and guitarist, Johnny Mackay.

What’s your favourite song of all time, Johnny?

‘Rock Lobster‘ [by the B-52s - video embedded below] because it has the lyrics “Everybody had matching towels” and “Here comes the narwhal”.

Favourite musical moment of 2010 so far?

Band of Horses @ SXSW. I cried. I also got inappropriately excited during Warpaint there. Seeing Tame Impala @ Splendour made me feel like a proud out-of-town cousin.

You’re a musician. Why? What compels you?

The ghosts of a thousand shit jobs.

What’s more important to you: living comfortably from your art (financially), or artistic integrity? Is it possible to have both?

Ummmmm. I just do what I do. I think if you spend time considering either it’s not going to come out right. Being honest and free with yourself if the most important thing. Worrying about being cool (or whether or not you have integrity) or being commercially viable/successful are equally unsatisfying paths to travel down. I actually hate the attitude that tries to divide people up like this. Next question.

Social media for musicians: friend or foe?

I’m pretty sure no one is interested in when I’m doing my laundry, and I’d get us in trouble if I had control of the Twitter account at 2am on a Saturday. On the other hand I think you’re crazy if you don’t at least investigate taking advantage of every avenue open to you to make your music available to people.

Favourite song of 2010 so far?

M.I.A. - ‘Born Free‘ [music video embedded below] because it makes me move my head back and forth really quickly.

Your recorded music is an advertisement for your live show. You should not expect that people will buy your music. Agree/disagree?

I don’t really expect anything of anyone. Our recorded music usually comes with nice artwork but people stealing music is a fact of life. Personally, I find buying music fun.

What do you hope to achieve as a result of playing at One Movement?

To start our own movement.

Favourite music video of all time?

‘Close To Me‘ by The Cure [embedded below]. I love how claustrophobic it is. I also love the comb.

I also love ‘Toxic‘ by Britney Spears, and The Rolling Stones’ ‘Waiting on a Friend‘ is good for pure awkward comedy.

Finally, please recommend our readers an amazing band/artist from your hometown, and tell us why you love their music.

Josh Armistead. He’s a singer/songwriter who doesn’t really play around much anymore, but he was an early inspiration to me when I first started singing and writing songs with vocals in them. His songs continue to blow me away to this day. He’d probably find it weird that I wrote this. [Video for the Josh Armistead track 'Bongo Mango' embedded below]

Thanks for your time, Johnny.

Children Collide are appearing in Perth at the One Movement Music Festival in October 2010. For more details on the festival, including artist and ticketing details, click here.

Visit Children Collide on MySpace here. The music video for their song ‘My Eagle‘ is embedded below.