The reality is pretty clear. Mandy Kane just doesn't fit in.

As one of the most controversial artists working in Australian music today, this suburban subterranean rock virtuoso is either cursed or blessed with the kind of imagination that makes "reality" a pretty dull option.

Fuelled by a childhood diet of '80s fantasy, horror and sci-fi films, fast food and a diverse taste for the outlandish end of popular music, the small boy who would become Mandy was immersed in the world of entertainment before he took his first steps.

Throughout his high school years, his fascination with the unreal soared to levels that set him apart from the vacuous mundanity favoured by his teachers and peers.

Obsessed with the magic of cinema, he found his niche in the netherworld of school theatre and powerful music and innovative imagery of such timeless rock visionaries as David Bowie and Pink Floyd.

Concerns that the kid with the headphones seemed "distracted" and "unwell" led to a psychiatric evaluation, which yielded the surprisingly apt diagnosis of "Chronic Daydreamer".

A series of high school bands seemed the perfect outlet for his deliciously dark inner visions, but each fell foul of fellow members' commitment to pursuing "normal" adolescence.

So, while his former band mates slowly dropped off to focus on studies or - worse - garden-variety teenage angst, the career misfit began transforming his suburban bedroom into a fully armed and loaded recording studio.

Usually beginning with a title or concept for a song, like a film director envisaging a movie, Mandy Kane began constructing melodies to match his visions. Lyrics would follow. Then came the challenge of recreating the soundscapes he heard in his head by means of a 4-track tape machine - eventually updated to 64-track digital software.

Gradually refining his skill as a producer, Mandy's songs became individual worlds within themselves. Like the countless films he had devoured in his childhood, MK took elements from everyday existence, twisted them hard, and integrated them into popular entertainment.

After years of writing, recording and producing his own material, the artists burned a selection of his favourite works to disc and distributed it to every name he could find in the Australian music industry. He took the initial confusion and rejection in his stride. Like he always had.

"Warner Music was the only company willing to give me the degree of control I wanted with my own project," Mandy says of the eventual recording deal, which soon found him jetting off to re-record his demos in Los Angeles with former NIN sound architect Chris Vrenna.

"Some of the work I did with Chris was great and I kept it, but the label and I agreed that we'd lost something in the transition. We decided the best approach was to have someone remix the original home demos because they were already fully produced songs. They had my feel, my sound."

Tony Espie (The Avalanches, Daniel Merriweather, Christine Anu) was the perfect choice to bring new vitality to the songs Mandy had already breathed into life. The final 12 were mastered at The Exchange in London under the title of TRAGIC DAYDREAMS.

TRAGIC DAYDREAMS refers to the pure, early visions that sparked the creation of Mandy Kane's debut album. Each track is a story born of his own, often dark and brooding imagination, each inspired by direct experience and filtered through the unreal mental labyrinth that he's long called home.

Two singles from the album were released to considerable commercial success in 2003. The electro-textured STAB was written from the perspective of the stereotypical angst-ridden, apathetic teen with which Mandy was all too familiar.

"When I was a kid, they wanted to put me in one of those places where all people do is whine about wanting to kill themselves," he says. "STAB was a statement against that. The lyrics were intended to be ironic - an attempt to show up how flawed the notion of teenage suicide really is."

BILLY BONES followed, a fantasy piece heavily influenced by American cartoon culture. The song was accompanied by a dramatic video that had confused critics scrambling for pigeonholes such as "Gothic": an easy option, but only the tiniest tip of MK's wardrobe.

"I've never subscribed to Gothic culture," he says. "I respect how those people choose to live, but I don't represent them or anyone else. Both musically and as a person, I find categorisation to be terribly limiting.

BILLY BONES was largely based on myself. Sometimes I see myself as an overgrown teenager experimenting with these creations in my bedroom. I play with audio, Billy plays with explosives."

On a more serious social slant, there are hundreds of cases of young people building bombs and blowing themselves up every year. Hence, fantasy and reality collided in a more potent package than most pop critics see in a month of haircuts.

In April 2004, a third single, STUPID FRIDAY, is due to derail any lingering preconceptions about Mandy Kane yet again. An undeniable showcase for his ability to write and produce timeless, melodic and unforgettable songs, it elevates him once and for all beyond simplistic genre categories and passing fads.

"STUPID FRIDAY was inspired by the desire to change, to leave behind the person you once were," he says. "I'm constantly evolving, and this song is particularly relevant to me now, because I'm at a point in my life where I'm starting to make those changes."

The single also features a remix by MK.

Mandy Kane's ability to reproduce his distinctive sound live in another stunning facet to his multi-instrumentalist talent. A mesmerised Sydney Opera House audience, including Keanu Reeves, witnessed a stunning showcase at the Australian premiere of "The Matrix Revolution".

Naturally, Mandy has been warmly embraced by some of the finest misfits on the modern rock n' roll stage. His invitation to open for Marilyn Manson around Australia in September culminated in much sordid backstage camaraderie and a parting gift of Manson's coveted bowler hat to a kindred outsider spirit.

In November, he eased into Machine Gun Fellatio's world of inspired debauchery like a hand in a rubber glove. Mandy was commissioned by the producers of the new Australian film "One Perfect Day" to record the Duran Duran song "Ordinary World", which features in the film and on the soundtrack album.

As real life catches up with the Chronic Daydreamer's visions, Mandy continues on a feverish path of creation. In the last few months he's co-written with Scandinavian studio supremo Valgeir Sigurdsson (Sigur Ros, Bjork); worked with Sophie Monk and Emmanual Carrella, and produced the debut track from the winner of the Channel V new talent competition.

And we're still just peeking through the keyhole.