We are delighted to be able to bring you an exclusive Q&A with one of the most exciting bands to emerge from Brighton in years. This continues in our growing line of interviewees, from Little Boots, to Marina & The Diamonds, bringing you cutting edge musicians in the early stages of their promising careers.
On this ocassion James and Ally from Mirrors took time out for us, as they prepare for their upcoming Loop Festival performance in their home town of Brighton. Put simply, we couldn’t be more excited if you attached a pair of electrodes to our bollocks. The promise and hype that surrounds this magical band are suggesting big things. The available music that we’ve heard and the live performances to date have only built on the growing reputation.
1.) OK, so you are new to most of us, yet you already have Brighton and the wider music community wetting their pants out there, so lets start at the beginning…We want to know how you all met? We heard you were members of the band Mum-Ra, so is this true and how did you come to form?
I suppose we just gravitated towards one another. James and Tate had just left Mumm-ra and moved to Brighton to start something new. The four of us just clicked. We all had this vision to create a band where the ideas and aesthetic were as considered as the music.
We are:
James – synthesizer & vocals
Ally – synthesizer & vocals
Tate – synthesizer
Joe – electronic drums
We think so. Brighton is our spiritual home. Our lives have become so much richer for moving here. It is a very vibrant city. We are all very proud to be a part of it.
That was our first show. we’ve only played a handful of shows so far. I think people are surprised how refined the performance is for such a new band. We didn’t want to leave anything to chance. Its all about the details.
Certainly the New Hero show holds a special place in our hearts, as it was the first show in our home city. Our plan is to set up a residency there where we can expand on our ideas – think painted silver dancers handing out trays of frozen flowers, koyaanisqatsi projected on the walls whilst DJ’s throw in some electronic madness. having our own night will give us a chance to create a full on 3D experience.
Kraftwho? The suits compliment our music. A neat, classic image. We’ve seen a lot of scruffy looking fellows in recent times and the suits are just another little thing that separates Mirrors and it’s aesthetic from the other bands around us.
It’s a phrase we coined ourselves. We wanted to stress the fact that we write “Pop” music as it can sometimes be overlooked when we start talking about our world. We think it’s an accurate reflection of the music we make. It’s memorable.
Well, yes, they are obvious reference points. But I think our sound is much denser than these bands and what we do also sounds very contemporary. We are living in the 21st century, the world around us will inevitably influence our music.
We’re playing latitude, and maybe a couple of smaller shows around Brighton. However, we’re not the sort of band to play every show available to us. There’s no point. our shows will be select, special.
We have written many songs, but a lot of them still need work. Our writing process is very slow and methodical, but yes, the record is starting to take shape.
We’ve got a single coming out this month on the Pure Groove label. Then there are plans in place for the rest of the year but nothing confirmed in terms of an album.
We’ll work with the label that we feel best understands the band and it’s ambitions.
We want to make our live show something special. That’s very important to us. Writing and recording will continue and we’ll be ready to release a fantastic record next year.
13.) Lastly, we always ask at the end of each Q&A for the interviewees to become honorary ‘Recommenders’ by asking them to suggest any new bands/acts/DJ’s that have caught your eye in recent times that you would like to share with us?
We’re enjoying listening to Amadou & Mariam at the moment. It’s just a great pop record.
MIRRORS – HIDE & SEEK (ysi)
OK, so that’s another great exclusive interview completed. Search our archives for more from Mirrors, as well as the other interviews we’ve done in the past. The Recommender will be at Loop Festival, so if you plan on joining us this coming weekend, pop here to grab a ticket. See you at the front…
Mike
[...] our previous Q & A sessions from the likes of Little Boots, to Mirrors, to Marina & The Diamonds, amongst others, we are pleased to be able to bring you yet another [...]
[...] posts about the Brighton band Mirrors here on The Recommender, including an enjoyable Q&A, (listed here). We’ve looked on adoringly from the beginning, having witnessed their first ever gig and [...]
[...] ‘going out bible‘, The Brighton Source Magazine. We put five bands on show, including Mirrors, Pope Joan, King Charles, Foreign Office and The Agitator. All of these artists are set to break [...]
[...] Soundcloud. It’s worth hunting out though, as it’s cruising groove and middle-class, Mirrors-like vocals have charm and grace poured all over them like smoke from a dry ice machine. Sure you [...]
[...] you would imagine their music is heavily synthetic, reminding us of the UK band, Mirrors, with the same stern, perfectly placed keys that echo off the walls throughout each tune. The first [...]
[...] it possible to balance the fact that we adore the Brighton band Mirrors whilst utterly despising the Manchester band Hurts? Yes. Yes it is. That’s the exact position [...]