September 2014
It’s difficult to comprehend that another month has passed. Now 7 months since we were reunited in our lives as friends, and collaborators; making it our vow to shift Heaven and Earth to transmit the music of Whicha Mirrors to all four corners of the Earth. And It’s been a great journey so far. Rewarding, exciting and euphoric at times; stressful, challenging and overwhelming at others. It’s certainly been a great test of our friendship, but - music aside - we still spend more time laughing than we do anything else, which is quite something at 3am, when you’ve spent six hours listening to nothing but drum beats and a metronome together!
We considered the completion of ‘Lightyears’ as reaching Camp 1 in our climb of Everest. The hike to Camp 2 is well underway as we continue to work on the arrangement of track 2: ‘Green Park.’ It will take time, but we are committed to doing each song full justice and only bringing you our best. Each piece has it’s own challenges and we are always keen to give the canvas every possible chance - experimenting with different colours and textures before deciding which truly belong. We have in the past agreed that it’s almost as if the completed version already exists, and it is more about slowly brushing the sand away to reveal the image in all its resounding clarity, than it is about searching in the dark for something new outright.
September saw us perform at The Troubadour in Earls Court. A magical and quaint old venue in West London with low ceilings and one of the most intimate stage and audience layouts we’ve experienced. It was swelteringly hot on stage and the wrong evening to be wearing blazers but it was a good show and very warmly received. It was also the first time that we both brandished our wind instruments in the live setting - the oboe and clarinet both making cameo appearances.
We also gave our first interview after the show as music journalist Ciara Judge asked us questions concerning our inspirations, our artist name, our view of social media and much more. Stay tuned for the full interview transcript which will be online soon.
The journey home saw us stop at our spiritual mid-way point: Finsbury Park Station, home to many of our off-the-cuff live performances over the years, as we awaited the last train home on the characteristically eery and desolate platform. This time we played a couple of songs in the waiting room and ended up growing a small audience featuring two stranded railway engineers and an Australian couple who had just returned from seeing Rufus Wainwright at the Proms.
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Post by Whicha Mirrors.
With one of us being a life-long Barnet Football Club supporter, it was a particularly special month as the club decided to play Lightyears during the half-time break of the fixture against Alfreton Town on Saturday 6 September. It was a surreal experience for the both of us hearing it spilling out hauntingly across the stadium.
September also saw us record our first cover: ‘Wicked Game’, by Chris Isaak. In some ways it seemed slightly mad to do so, given how much original material demands our attention, but it provided a welcome break and was nice & easy, and enjoyable to record. We certainly wanted to put our own slant on the song and mould it to our own inclinations as artists and musicians. The piano, harmonies and clarinet felt the organic way to achieve this…
As we head into October we have decided to give all of our supporters and followers the chance to download a free copy of Lightyears ahead of its general release next Spring, to say thank you for being with us. If you haven’t yet claimed your download you can do so by clicking here.
October promises to be another great month with two live London shows (click here to see gig schedule), drummer auditions (as we begin to expand the live sound), and two live acoustic sessions: one for BBC 3 Counties Radio, and one for London radio station: SW1 Radio. Both will be available to stream online and we will provide links nearer the time. To stay bang up-to-date join us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter.
In the meantime, thank you for joining us on this journey. We will have a new musical upload for you to enjoy within the next week or so.
Enjoy the remaining balmy days of the season
With love,
Michael & Joshua
xx