That's largely because he's performed here only a few times in the past decade.
Having moved to the UK in 2006 to see where music might take him, along with musical friends Liam Finn and Lawrence Arabia, he found record labels were plenty interested in his whimsical, singular, psychedelic pop. But that interest came with many conditions, and Mockasin has never been one to be restricted to a particular box.
He went ahead and recorded an album anyway, called Please Turn Me Into The Snat, partially in London, partially in New Zealand, and was then picked up by European label Phantasy Sound. And although there's never been a particular song or moment that launched him, Mockasin has since gone from homeless struggling musician, to bona fide international indie star, all the while maintaining his softly spoken manner, humility, and keen taste for anything creative.
Connon Mockasin features on the cover of this week's TimeOut:
This year's Laneway marks his first Kiwi appearance since he opened for Radiohead at Vector Arena in 2012, and it's also the first time he's been home in two years.
He sounds mighty pleased to be here, as he chats on the porch of his family home in Te Awanga, Hawkes Bay.
Mockasin's artistic output may be a little eccentric, some might say nutty, but he's a charming, straightforward interviewee, who appreciates the same simple pleasures many of us do.
"I'm drinking a glass of red wine from the vineyard next door, looking at the ocean down past the backyard. It's really beautiful. I'm very lucky."
Te Awanga, which has around 320 households, sounds like a delightful place to grow up, and Mockasin has fond memories of various creative exploits undertaken by himself and his brothers, with solid encouragement from his parents, both of whom have an artistic streak.
"We were encouraged to make whatever we wanted. We had lots of pipes and steel and stuff to weld, so I was quite into making amusement park rides, small fold-up ones you could put on a trailer, and my brothers and I used to make all these things and we'd bring them out the front on Halloween. I loved roller coasters and ghost trains.
"I miss all that, you don't get to do all that stuff when you're travelling.
"Not that I'm bored of playing, I love playing, but it's nice to take a break every now and again."
Having this inspiring spot to call home clearly means a lot to Mockasin, even if he spends a good deal of time far away. He's hoping to bring his band to Te Awanga before his Laneway Festival tour begins.
"Hopefully we'll do a small show together in Te Awanga hall, and I've asked Liam Finn and Lawrence Arabia and Mac DeMarco if they'd like to come down too, so that would be fun."
He'll be playing songs from Please Turn Me Into The Snat and his latest release Caramel at Laneway, with the setlist picked out by the band on the day.
Caramel, released in late 2013, has a slightly different personality to his previous releases, having been recorded over a month in a Tokyo hotel room, and entirely inspired by the word "caramel". He wanted to make a record that sounded like caramel.
"It would be a little bit flirty and as slick as I could make it."
The Guardian described it as "Prince on prescription tranquillisers, in a good way", and they weren't the only ones who sang Caramel's praises - the demand has been such that Mockasin has spent the past 12 months touring pretty solidly.
And that's partly why he hasn't been working on a new record, but he's also feeling rather disillusioned with the music industry in general.
"I'm strongly against clicks and samples and playback and so on, stuff that you can't change, you're stuck with it, because they make live shows so boring. And that seems to be really common now, because it makes everything sound closer to a CD, but it's pointless really - then you might as well just play the CD on some speakers.
"I mean, I don't really see the point in playing your guitar live over a pre-recorded set of tracks, why not just have the guitar pre-recorded as well?
"Why not just put all the music on a track, that will cost you less anyway, and then you really have to perform, you can be a performer like you're supposed to, not hiding behind an instrument. Like a rapper. Just do it like that if you want to, but be a performer.
"I guess audiences seem to lap it up either way, and I mean there are some smart audiences out there, but most people don't really care.
"Everything seems to be getting dumbed-down, I feel. All arts seem to be getting worse. And that's why I feel embarrassed calling myself a musician lately, it's probably the worst it's been in a long time.
"Sorry to sound so grim, but it's the sort of thing, when you have to fill out an airport arrival card, it makes me cringe, writing down 'musician'."
Fans needn't fear though, it doesn't mean Mockasin is going into hibernation, he's just spreading his creative talents around even further.
"I'm actually working on a comedy series, and there could be an album with that. I'm not sure where that will end up, it would be great to get it on TV, but I'm just going to make it anyway. My next-door neighbour Blake and I, we used to have an act called Boston n Dobson, and we created a play which we put on in London last year. So we're going to try to create a series from that, and create the music to go with it, which could be an album.
They're all just ideas really, but I'll definitely make something along those lines. And maybe do some recording with my dad as well."
The lack of a plan means he can say yes when appealing opportunities arise - like recently writing and playing with James Blake - and so far, seeing where the breeze takes him seems to be working very well for Mr Mockasin.
Who: Connan Mockasin
Where and when: Performing on the Hey Seuss stage at 1pm at Laneway Festival, Monday January 26.
Listen to: Caramel (Special Edition available now), Forever Dolphin Love aka Please Turn Me Into The Snat (2011)
• TimeOut has five double passes to Laneway to give away. To enter, simply head to our Facebook page and tell us who you're most excited to see. Winners will be drawn Friday, January 23 at 5pm. Tickets will be emailed to winners ahead of Monday's event.
- TimeOut
