Mirrors (band)

For other uses, see Mirror (disambiguation).

Mirrors
Background information
Origin	Brighton, England
Genres	Synthpop
Years active	2008-present
Labels	Pure Groove, Moshi Moshi, Skint Records, PIAS Recordings
Associated acts	Mumm-Ra
Website	Official Website
Members
James New (synthesizer & vocals)[1] Ally Young (synthesizer & vocals) James Arguile (synthesizer) Josef Page (electronic drums)

Mirrors are an English synthpop band originating from Brighton who formed in 2008. The band consists of James New (lead vocals and synthesizers), Ally Young (synthesizers and vocals), James Arguile (synthesizers) and Josef Page (electronic drums). They prefer to describe their music as 'electronic soul'^[2] and 'pop noir'^[3] with their main instruments being analogue synthesizers.

Their brand of synthesizer driven pop music is commonly compared to the sound of bands such as Kraftwerk, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Depeche Mode and Blancmange. They released their début album in February 2011 called Lights and Offerings^[4][5][6] which was promoted by a number of singles in 2010 and 2011.

History

Formation (2008)

Mirrors were formed by James New and Ally Young after Mumm-Ra broke up in 2008.^[7] The two met in Brighton in 2008 and started working on the idea of, according to them, the ideal group, in May 2008. James: "This ideal group would have visuals as part of their live experience. It would have things going on on pavements. It would play in the middle of a room."^[8]
Once the basics were set, James Arguile^[9] would soon join the group followed by Josef Page, leaving behind him a promising career in hospital administration, as the final member and they started working on their visuals which would include suits and ties and keeping control over their artwork and videos.

"Look at Me" / "Into the Heart" (2009)

Their first live performance was in May 2009 at New Hero in Brighton. After demoing some songs that year such as "Fear of Drowning", "Hide and Seek", "Searching in the Wilderness" and "Write Through the Night" (called "Organ Song" as a demo, because of the heavy usage of organ-soundlike synthesizers), the first single would become "Look at Me",^[10] released through the Pure Groove label, supposedly to be limited to just 200 copies on a one-sided red vinyl 7".^[11] Soon after their first release they signed up with Moshi Moshi and released their second single, "Into the Heart" in November, which also featured a new B-side called "Lights and Offerings", a title they would use in 2011 for their début album.

Lights and Offerings (2010-present)

After this they came to the attention of Skint Records. Skint Records appeared to be an obvious choice, because the label is from Mirrors' home town Brighton, making face-to-face contact much easier.^[12] The label also understand their goals and artistic direction.

Mirrors continued with performing the occasional gigs in the United Kingdom^[13] until they headed into the studio in June 2010,^[14] working on their début album. Having written most of the material already in 2009, the album sessions could be finishing in just one month. The first single from these sessions was "Ways to an End", released on August 23 as a download and 7" vinyl single. They toured as a support act for Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark in November 2010^[15] and released two more singles and a special tour EP before their début album Lights and Offerings was released on February 28, 2011^[16] in the UK and on March 18 in Europe.^[17]

They started touring as a headline act on April 12, 2011 in Cologne, Germany and will be supporting Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark in Spain in June of this year.

A fourth single from the début album was released on 6 June 2011 being "Look at Me" with the double A-side "Perfectly Still".^[18] The single was previously released in 2009 on the Pure Groove label. The new single features a new remix by Simon Thornton.

Mirrors' first documentary was aired on Channel 4 on 9 June 2011 at 0:35am GMT^[19] as part of the 4Play program. On 8 July 2011 they performed live in Berlin, Germany, at the Michalsky Stylenite fashion show which was streamed live on the internet^[20]

On 16 August 2011 Mirrors announced that they cancelled the September performances with OMD plus their performance at Bestival, Isle Of Wight, as they are currently working on new material.

Radioactive Man released a remix of the Mirrors' track "Ways to an End" on 12 September 2011. The digital bundle contains a remix and an instrumental version of that remix.

On October 13th Ally Young announced he was leaving the band.

Discography

Albums

• Lights and Offerings (2011) (UK chart peak: #161)^[21]

EPs

• Broken by Silence (2010)

Singles

• "Look at Me" (2009)
• "Into the Heart" (2009)
• "Ways to an End" (2010)
• "Hide and Seek" (2010)
• "Into the Heart" (2011)
• "The White EP"' (2011)
• "Look at Me" (2011)
• "Ways to an End" (2011)

Promotional releases

The releases below were issued on CD for promotional purposes only.

• Mirrors 2010 (unknown)
• Remixes (03/2010)
• Mixtape (07/2010)
• Theme Time Radio Ear II (08/2010)
• Theme Time Radio Ear III (09/2010)

Tour dates

Below is an overview of all known tour dates, including the cancelled shows.

Date	City	Country	Venue	Other acts at venue	Notes
May 12, 2009	Brighton	United Kingdom	New Hero
May 20, 2009	London		Hoxton Square Bar	Giantess, Erik Hassle, Disco Bloodbath
May 31, 2009	Southsea		Edge of the Wedge	Mutiny on the Bounty, Venice Ahoy
July 11, 2009	Brighton		Corn Exchange
July 19, 2009	Suffolk		Latitude Festival	Phoenix, Passion Pit, The xx
August 14, 2009	London		The Garage
Ocotber 15, 2009			Barfly Camden	Jay Bless da Riddum, Young Rebel Set
October 30, 2009			Cargo
November 20, 2009	Amsterdam	The Netherlands	Paradiso
January 7, 2010	London	United Kingdom	The Garage	Delphic	Support act
January 14, 2010	Norwich		Norwich Arts Centre
January 15, 2010	Oxford		O2 Academy Oxford
January 16, 2010	Sheffield		The Leadmill
January 19, 2010	Brighton		Audio
January 20, 2010	Wolverhampton		The Slade Rooms
January 21, 2010	Liverpool		The Kazimier
January 22, 2010	Glasgow		King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
January 23, 2010	Leeds		The Cockpit
February 6, 2010	London		The Borderline	Chew Lips, Charli XCX, Expatriate
February 9, 2010
May 30, 2010	Newcastle Upon Tyne		Evolution Festival Weekender	Paolo Nutini, Delphic, The Horrors
June 29, 2010	London		Barfly Camden	Chakras, Hektor Red
July 7 2010			Hoxton Square Bar
July 13, 2010			Madam Jojo's	The Hundred In The Hands, MNDR
July 14, 2010	Brighton		New Hero
July 16, 2010	Cleveland		Ku Bar
July 17, 2010	Southampton		Unit
July 23, 2010	London		The Watershed
July 31, 2010			Proud Camden	Run Toto Run, The Whip DJ Set
August 2, 2010	Glasgow		King Tut's Wah Wah Hut
August 3, 2010	Leeds		Oporto
August 4, 2010	Sheffield		The Forum
August 5, 2010	Leicestershire		The Musician
August 7, 2010	London		Little London Fields Festival	Anna Calvi, Kill It Kid, Don't Wait Animate
August 13, 2010	Birmingham		The Digbeth
August 18, 2010	London		The Lexington	Fleur and LYS CLUB
August 20, 2010	Bristol		Start The Bus
August 21, 2010	York		The Basement
August 27, 2010	London		KOKO
September 10, 2010	London		The Monarch	Royal Palms	Cancelled
September 23, 2010	Farnham		Farnham Student Union
September 25, 2010	Brighton		Audio
October 5, 2010			Jam	Mount Kimbie
October 7, 2010			Audio	We Have Band, Bright Light Bright Light
October 16, 2010	Amiens	France	Nuit Blanche
November 3, 2010	London	United Kingdom	City and Arts Music Project	Midnight Juggernauts
November 5, 2010			Electrowerx	Ulterior, Rubicks, Lord Auch
November 11, 2010	Cologne	Germany	E-Werk	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Support act
November 12, 2010	Hannover		Capitol
November 13, 2010	Leipzig		Haus Auensee
November 15, 2010	Stuttgart		Stuttgart Theaterhaus
November 16, 2010	Munich		Tonhalle
November 18, 2010	Berlin		Tempodrom
November 19, 2010	Hamburg		Docks Hamburg
November 21, 2010	Luxembourg	Luxembourg	Den Atelier
November 22, 2010	Brussels	Belgium	Ancienne Belgique
November 23, 2010	Amsterdam	The Netherlands	Paradiso
November 25, 2010	Paris	France	Casino de Paris
November 30, 2010	Birmingham	United Kingdom	Academy 3
December 2, 2010	Bristol		Thekla	Delphic	Cancelled
December 3, 2010	London		Ronnie Scotts
December 4, 2010	Brighton		Audio
December 13, 2010	London		XOYO	Pnau
February 5, 2011			The Garage	Fenech-Solar, Is Tropical
February 10, 2011			O2 Shephard's Bush Empire	White Lies, Crocodiles
March 2, 2011	Birmingham		Hare and Hounds	Fugiya and Miyagi	Support act
March 3, 2011	Salford		Islington Mill
March 4, 2011	Leeds		Brudenell Social Club
March 5, 2011	Bristol		Fleece
March 8, 2011	London		Heaven
April 2, 2011			Troxy's	Gary Numan, John Foxx, Motor, DJ set Daniel Miller & Mark Jones	Festival
April 12, 2011	Cologne	Germany	Gebäude 9
April 13, 2011	Berlin		Comet Club
April 14, 2011	Hamburg		Molotov
April 16, 2011	Frankfurt		Yellowstage
April 20, 2011	Munich		Atomic Cafe
April 22, 2011	Zurich	Switzerland	The Plaza
April 23, 2011	Vienna	Austria	Badeschiff
May 7, 2011	Vilagarcia	Spain	Festival do Norte		Festival
May 11, 2011	Brighton	United Kingdom	Haunt
May 22, 2011	Brussels	Belgium	Les Nuits Botanique	Suuns, The Crookes
May 28, 2011	Lewes	United Kingdom	Meadowlands Fest		Festival
June 14, 2011	Madrid	Spain	Arena	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Support act
June 15, 2011	Barcelona		Apolo
June 18, 2011	Paris	France	La Flèche d'Or	Modern English, Flying Turns, Destin
June 22, 2011	Ertfurt	Germany	Thuringen Halle	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Support act
June 23, 2011	Leipzig		Parkbühne
June 26, 2011	Glastonbury	United Kingdom	Glastonbury Festival		Festival
July 1, 2011	Coventry		Godiva Festival
July 2, 2011	Lancashire		Beat Herder Festival
July 8, 2011	Berlin	Germany	Tempodrom		Michalsky Fashion Show
July 29, 2011	London	United Kingdom	Vintage at the Southbank		Festival
August 5, 2011	Salzburg	Austria	Rockhouse		Cancelled
August 14, 2011	Hildesheim	Germany	M'era Luna Festival
September 1, 2011	Cologne		Tanzbrunnen	Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark	Cancelled
September 2, 2011	Hamburg		Stadtpark
September 5, 2011	Berlin		IFA Sommergarten, Messe
September 6, 2011	Schwerin		Freilichtbühne
September 10, 2011	Isle of Wight	United Kingdom	Bestival

References

1. ^ "Q & A - MIRRORS - The Recommender". http://therecommender.net/2009/07/07/q-a-mirrors/. Retrieved 16 April 2011 (2011-04-16). 
2. ^ "Mirrors, Audio, Brighton, Sep 25". http://www.theargus.co.uk/leisure/music/musicpreview/8416836.Mirrors__Audio__Brighton__Sep_25/#. Retrieved 16 April 2011 (2011-04-16). 
3. ^ "This is Fake DIY album review". http://www.thisisfakediy.co.uk/articles/albums/mirrors-lights-offerings. Retrieved 20 April 2011 (2011-04-20). 
4. ^ "NME album review". http://www.nme.com/reviews/mirrors--2/11867. Retrieved 12 May 2011 (2011-05-12). 
5. ^ Price, Simon (February 6, 2011). "The Independent album review". London. http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/album-mirrors-lights-and-offerings-skint-2206089.html. Retrieved 12 May 2011 (2011-05-12). 
6. ^ "Drowned in Sound album review". http://drownedinsound.com/releases/16008/reviews/4142138. Retrieved 12 May 2011 (2011-05-12). 
7. ^ "Mumm-Ra break-up". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mumm-Ra_%28band%29#Breakup. Retrieved 15 April 2011 (2011-04-15). 
8. ^ "RCRD LBL: Mirrors - Ways To An End". http://rcrdlbl.com/artists/Mirrors/track/Way_To_An_End_. Retrieved 15 April 2011 (2011-04-15) So the pair met up one day in May 2008 and plotted a strategy to transform all this disappointment into inspiration. They specifically talked about what an ideal group should be.. 
9. ^ Lester, Paul (March 13, 2009). "The Guardian: New band of the day". London. http://www.guardian.co.uk/music/2009/mar/13/new-band-mirrors. Retrieved 12 May 2011 (2011-05-12). 
10. ^ "Drowned in Sound: Mirrors - ‘Look At Me’". http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4137511-this-weeks-singles--03-08-2009?relevant-artist. Retrieved 12 May 2011 (2011-05-12). 
11. ^ "MIRRORS - Fan Questions". http://mirrors.fanbridge.com/fan_questions/?page=3. Retrieved 15 April 2011 (2011-04-15). 
12. ^ "Interview: Mirrors". http://lazybrighton.co.uk/interviews/interview-mirrors. Retrieved 20 April 2011 (2011-04-20). 
13. ^ "NME Mirrors set to play Club NME KOKO this Friday (August 27)". http://www.nme.com/news/mirrors--2/52637. Retrieved 12 May 2011 (2011-05-12). 
14. ^ "See page 1 in the Lights and Offerings CD booklet". 
15. ^ "Drowned in Sound: OMD meet Mirrors: 30 years of electronic music". http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4141688-omd-meet-mirrors--30-years-of-electronic-music?relevant-artist. Retrieved 12 May 2011 (2011-05-12). 
16. ^ "MIRRORS Lights And Offerings". http://www.electricity-club.co.uk/html/2011_preview.html. Retrieved 15 April 2011 (2011-04-15). 
17. ^ "Mirrors – Lights and Offerings (VÖ. 18.03. CD/Digital)". http://www.pias.com/de/mirrors-lights-and-offerings/. Retrieved 15 April 2011 (2011-04-15). 
18. ^ "Facebook wall post". http://www.facebook.com/theworldofmirrors/posts/201240513228737. Retrieved 15 March 2011 (2011-03-15). 
19. ^ "4Play - Episode Guide". http://www.channel4.com/programmes/4play/episode-guide. Retrieved 6 June 2011 (2011-06-06). 
20. ^ "Michalsky StyleNite LIVE". http://www.dhl-brandworld.com/en/activities/world-class-partnerships/224-michalsky-stylenite-2011.html. Retrieved 10 July 2011 (2011-07-10). 
21. ^ http://www.zobbel.de/cluk/110312cluk.txt

External links

• Official Website
• Ten Times Top Five To Mirrors Mirrors presents their top 5 lists.