Mirror - In To The Wood (Three Poplars, 2002)

1 In To The Wood 71:48

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Mirror - Solaris (IDEA Records, 2002)

1 Solaris 41:33

Andrew Chalk and Christoph Heemann, the core members of Mirror, have churned out countless expensive, gorgeously packaged LPs in highly countable numbers (typically under 400). The duo’s strategy has baffled me almost as much as it’s put me off, because their atmospheric music could easily find a much wider audience than the cabal of record collectors who are seduced by the bogus romance of self-imposed scarcity.

Solaris departs from Mirror’s usual MO; it’s their first CD (albeit one packaged in a lovely LP-styled sleeve), and it’s not a limited edition. The differences don’t stop there. Previously Heemann and Chalk have maintained a certain musical density and continuity by relying on drones, but Solaris is quite sparse; although it’s not improvised in real time, it sounds more like AMM than Thomas Koner.

Long clarinet tones, isolated prepared piano notes, and metallic reverberations mark a trail through the album-length piece’s empty spaces. Signal processing magnifies and warps individual sounds so that the woodwind sounds like a wind tunnel, tiny taps become echoing steps, and small scrapes become furry with static.

The change in material doesn’t lead to a diminishment of returns. Solaris goes beyond mere prettiness to sharpen one’s senses in a way that once again reminds me of AMM. Here’s hoping this record does so well that Mirror have no choice but to reissue their entire back catalog to the masses in all formats.
Dusted Reviews

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Mirror - Nights (Three Poplars, 2001)

1 Untitled 2:11
2 Untitled 17:57

Sold Exclusively at the Chicago shows on March 30th & 31st, 2001.

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Mirror - Nightwalkers (bonus CDr) (Robot Records, 2005)

1 Untitled (18:59)

sold with the 2005 reissue of Nightwalkers on Robot Records...

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Mirror - Live In Bern (Three Poplars, 2003)

1 Live In Bern (47:13)

no need for a review...

sold out

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Mirror - Pedestrian / Nocturne (Three Poplars, 2000)

A Pedestrian (4:41)
B Nocturne (6:21)

sold out

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Mirror - Islands (bonus 7") (Die Stadt, 2001)

1 Untitled
2 Untitled

the album is here

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Christoph Heemann & Andrew Chalk - Mirror Of The Sea (Robot Records, 2000)

A Mirror Of The Sea Pt. 1 (19:20)
B Mirror Of The Sea Pt. 2 (20:41)

Quand le duo Mirror décide de sortir un disque sous leur vrai nom à l'occasion de concerts donnés à Austin en 2000, cloches, gongs, drones de guitare, field recordings...

Andrew Chalk and Christoph Heemann have been collaborating extensively as Mirror over the past year, so it seems odd that the two of them have suddenly decided to release an album under their given names. It would make sense if they deviated from their work as Mirror. The source material for this album, bowed bells, gongs, and distant guitar drones, differs, and while the overall beauty and concept reveal a definite Mirror-like desire to capture an elusive spirutual voice through the resonance of drones. Extended organ chords, gentle creaking of an old wooden floors, and long reverberations of breathy flutes make for a more baroque tonal quality than the typicalChalk / Heemann sound. "The Mirror Of The Sea" is a beautiful picture disc with drawings by Andrew Chalk on each side. Of course, it's recommended.
Aquarius Records

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Mirror - Places Of Light (Three Poplars, 2004)

A1 Untitled (4:27)
A2 Untitled (6:00)
A3 Untitled (8:38)
B1 Untitled (20:41)

no need for a review...

sold out

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Mirror - I Paint For Love Of Color (IDEA, 2001)

A1 Untitled (23:27)
B1 Untitled (22:49)

no review, nice drones...

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Mirror - Islands (Die Stadt, 2001)

A1 Part I (5:32)
A2 Part II (13:59)
B1 Part III (8:25)
B2 Part IV (6:06)
C1 Recorded In Concert Austin, Texas (19:13)
D1 Recorded In Concert Austin, Texas (17:23)

Double LP de Mirror, le premier comprend quatre drones enregistrés en studio, le second est l'enregistrement d'une performance live donnée en 2000 à Austin avec drones à trois guitares où l'instrument devient méconnaissable....

Mirror began as a collaborative project between Christoph Heemann (of HNAS) and Andrew Chalk (of Organum), They have now been joined by mult-instrumentalist Andreas Martin, whose collaborations with Heemann have been documented on the notable Memoirs of a Lepidopterist double-CD released by Robot Records in 1999. Islands, their new double LP on Die Stadt, contains four studio tracks on the first LP plus a recording of a concert they gave in Texas last year on the second. Mirror has amazed me with every one of their releases. Their records are always presented in beautiful packaging, very limited press runs and each one has never failed to fill me with wonder at some of the most mysterious and compelling sounds I have ever heard. This new work is no exception; these sounds seem to breathe and expand far beyond the limits of my sound system. On the first LP, beautiful deep drones unfold, surrounded by a gentle rainfall which introduces the "islands", and which you also return to as the LP comes to an end. The final piece ends abruptly and in a fashion listeners of Heemann's work will be accustomed to - in a climax of dramatic sound (in this case the sounds of rain) intensifying and then suddenly cut to silence. The live performance on the second LP continues in this vein. All three players perform on guitars (processed in ways to make the sound sources almost unrecognisable, save for the scrapings of an ebow, occasional rough textures and a returning motif on sides 3 and 4), and here as on the first LP the sounds echo and warp into stunning drones, scrapings and harmonies. The three members of Mirror seem to have a direct access to the void; their music is the dynamic soundtrack of the view from here, a bridge over the void ("un ponte sul vuoto", as Calvino has written), and like the steps of this bridge, intervals of emptiness open between sounds and echoes.

Limited to 1000, 500 of which are pressed on blue vinyl, and 150 of those 500 come packaged with a bonus 7 inch of exclusive material available only through Die Stadt's mailorder service. Very highly recommended.

Incursion

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Mirror - Eye of the Storm (Streamline, 1999 (2003 reissue))

1 Eye Of The Storm (42:59)

Un morceau d'éternité hypnotique...

An hypnotizing piece of eternity...

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