Stereoklang interview with UK synthpop act Mirrors, who toured with OMD this fall
We got an exclusive interview with the probably most hyped synthpop act in Europe right now – Mirrors. Mirrors has recently finished their European tour together with OMD and Stereoklang caught up with the frontman in the band in their studio chatting about their music, gear, influences and their work on the new album. Below is one of their latest video releases.
You have been touring with OMD during the fall, how was it?
It was of course a very special thing for us, we have always been big fans of OMD and it was even more fun to discover that they were also fans of us. The fact that we now come to play in front of an audience made up entirely of people devoted to electronic music is a tremendous experience.
Mirrors lets me know that they also felt that the two bands really complemented each other on stage, rather then just that Mirrors were there to warm up the crowd. Mirrors adding perhaps a more saturated, heavy and modern sound to the equation.
You have received very positive reviews, what is the secret behind the success?
Apart from being happy by this for me obvious fact they gave me this explanation: For Mirrors it is all about combining great and cold electronic sounds, with a heart. If your soul is not present there will not be any great songs, a cliché perhaps, but you need to follow your heart. A lot of bands are “just” making futuristic music, Mirrors wants it to be warm as well – just like Kraftwerk. Of course the songs need to be well structured. Almost everything we do emanates from a traditional piano exercise, then you can get carried away when you do remixes
Your stage line up resembles another quartet based out of Germany, is that a coincidence?
– Not really ☺, although I need to say that the dress code is a coincidence. Kraftwerk is certainly a massive influence. However, in a sense Mirrors is more kind of a revolt to the massive indie-scene we have in the UK – and we are the anti-thesis of that.
Can you tell me what synths you are using on stage, are you a pure hardware band or are there software synths hidden in your studio?
To begin with James is writing most of the material and what is being used differs, but in general you will always find a Juno 60, Moog Phatty (although they are dreaming of a Moog Voyager) and a Prophet in the mix. The Juno is used for pads and chords, the Moog for basses, and then we have some samplers like the MPC in there as well.
We asked them if the Linn drum sounds were genuine or samples, and although they could have lied to us, they said that they were samples. In general Mirrors rely very little on backing tracks. – If we can´t play it we loop it. We want to do everything live on stage. So if you spot an Apple on stage it will only be used for the visuals.
Read the full interview here >>
Stereoklang interview with Canadian noise band Memmaker
Stereoklang had a quick chat with the band Memmaker when they performed live at this year’s ElectriXmas in Malmoe Sweden
Memmaker is a Canadian noise/IDM band currently based in Copenhagen, DK
Interview with Fräulein Plastique at ElectriXmas 2010
Most of you know Fräulein Plastique as one of two girls in the synthpop band Welle:Erdball, but Plastique (as we have reported on before) is also having another band on the side called The Girl and the Robot – we caught up with Fräulein Plastique at this weekends synth festival in Sweden and asked her what she has been up to and next steps in relation to her Robots and activities with Welle:
Stereoklang talks to synthmaster Daniel Myer, with Covenant and Recoil
Covenant performed at this year’s ElectriXmas and we had a quick talk with Daniel Myer about music, gear and iPads. Watch the video below 
More stuff on Daniel below:
Architect is joining Recoil for the US tour after some shows together in Europe.
Architect is the creation of German mastermind Daniel Myer. In 1993 he founded the legendary electro-industrial/EBM project Haujobb. Since then he has made a name for himself within the electronic scene and initiated many other projects such as HMB, Newt and Destroid.
Since 2007, he has been a permanent member of the renowned Swedish EBM band Covenant. Created in 1998, Architect and can be easily described as the most fascinating of Daniel’s projects. Focusing primarily on minimal techno, powerfully distorted sequences and razor-sharp breakbeats, he manages to create a unique hybrid of electronica with smooth ambient soundscapes, rendering the results suitable for both listening and dancing.
PAGE – Backstage video interview at ElectriXmas
Stereoklang met up with Eddie and Marina directly after their live gig at ElectriXmas, with some quick questions on next steps, synths and more, enjoy
More on Page here as well:
Plastikman Arkives interview Richie Hawtin
by Ali Demirel
Interview with Watson Wu
Rode Microphones has started a new video series called Rode Rage featuring Ric Viers, who takes us on a tour of the ‘who’s who’ of the entertainment audio world.
In this episode of RØDE Rage Ric drops in on sound designer Watson Wu (Transformers: War for Cybertron, Need for Speed, Operation Flashpoint). Winston talks about how his early passion for video games and pinball, combined with a classically trained musical background led to his eventual career as a sound designer for gaming, as well as his run in with an 1800hp ’69 Corvette!
STARMUS FESTIVAL
Interview with Edgar Froese from Tangerine Dreams
Edgar Froese from Tangerine Dream recently gave this interview for the Starmusfestival that will be held in the Canary Islands March 21-26, 2011. The STARMUS FESTIVAL is a unique scientific, artistic and musical event that will take place in the Canary Islands, a touristic and astronomical paradise in Spain. These islands are one of the finest locations for hotel complexes and host two of the most advanced astronomical observatories in the world. The Festival will celebrate astronomy during five days of recreational and informative activities in a popular, appealing and dynamic way.
Get to know Adafruit Industries
Limor Fried, the creator of the Roland TB-303 clone x0xb0x
Limor Fried is the founder and engineer behind Adafruit Industries which makes electronics kits that teach soldering, tinkering, and technology exploration. One of their projects, the Tweet-a-Watt, is a wireless modification to a common off-the-shelf home energy monitor, the Kill-a-Watt. The Tweet-a-Watt not only monitors your energy consumption, it sends the information to Twitter so you can track it online, which reveals usage trends over time. Besides selling a Tweet-a-Watt kit, Adafruit has also put the open source plans online for all to freely build and share, creating a network of makers watching their usage and swapping energy-saving tips.
Everything you wanted to know about Tron and Daft Punk
KCRW’s music director and “TRON: Legacy” music supervisor, Jason Bentley talks with director Joseph Kosinski about Daft Punk’s involvement with the film during pre-production. Visit kcrw.com/tron to listen to samples of the music.
DATAMASKIN
