Three-piece alt-rock band Blind Mirror have just released their debut single 'Where's Karma?', the first track from their first EP to follow soon.
We had the chance to speak with the guys as part of our introducing series...
Introduce yourselves and tell us a bit about you guys!
"Blind Mirror is a Los Angeles based alternative rock band project that began at the end of 2019 with singer Holden Glazer, guitarist Brandyn Juliyon, and drummer Ryo Nakamura."
How did you meet and when did you start making music together?
"I (Holden) met Brandyn some time in 2018 at a local open mic night in LA. We got along pretty well and shared a lot of similar music tastes and became friends. Eventually we started writing songs when we would hang out or jam for fun and decided to form the band. Brandyn knew Ryo through some mutual friends of theirs and invited him to come play with us. We’ve been a band ever since. We officially began recording our stuff at the top of this year, when we felt we finally had the songs that were worth it."
Is there a story or meaning behind the band name?
"Yeah! Brandyn and I were constantly throwing name ideas out there and we couldn’t land on anything, but one day the name just came to me in my car after looking at our list of options. Once I thought about it, it all made sense. Blind Mirror is essentially an idea, the idea of self reflection without judgment. Looking within and being honest with yourself, without judging is the only way to grow and learn, versus denial or any sort of self judgment because at the end of the day we are all constantly working on ourselves as people. It became an idea that I wanted to be reflected in how people feel when they listen to our music, that they can use it as a means to feel and progress forward."
Where are you from and what’s your favourite thing about it? Do you feel as though your surroundings have inspired your sound in any way?
"We are all from different places originally; Ryo’s from Japan, I’m from New Jersey, and Brandyn grew up in SoCal, but we all live in Los Angeles now. Living in LA is incredibly inspiring given the musical history and current culture. There’s always so much happening creatively. You could be walking along a sidewalk and run into other musicians or creatives and end up at a jam session the same night. The constant surrounding of other creative people has definitely inspired what we do and how we do it! In terms of sound though, it’s all internal, a result of a ton of musical discussion between the three of us and and our producer, Dylan."
Who are your biggest inspirations, musically?
"As a band I would say The Beatles, Radiohead, Coldplay, Pink Floyd, and Jimmy Eat World are a solid group of bands we love to listen to and are inspired by."
Who would be your dream artist to collaborate with?
"Paul McCartney and David Gilmour are two that immediately come to mind. In terms of a producer, I think it’d be amazing to one day work with Brendan O’Brien or Nigel Godrich."
You’ve just released your debut single ‘Where’s Karma?’! How has the reaction been so far?
"The reaction has actually been really great! Being our very first release, we didn’t expect much, as we only wanted it out there to establish our bases, but we’ve been getting constant positive feedback from our close friends, to playlist curators, and even fellow musicians/fans. I think it was the perfect first song to hear from us, as it is only a small essence of what our sound is, but it’s easy to jam."
Tell us a little about it!
"'Where’s Karma?' was the very first song that made us decide to finally hit the studio and establish the project. We had been writing a lot of ideas for about a year, amidst the pandemic, and were slowly, but surely gelling as a unit. 'Where’s Karma' first showed up as a chorus on my piano, but was very different. When I brought the melody to the guys, we just immediately started jamming to it and essentially wrote what is the base of the song you hear in one go. After making a demo, we booked the studio soon after and spent a lot of time working on the song and what we wanted it to sound like, given it was our first official song. Lyrically, it’s about the hand that’s dealt to you or the idea of fate and how there is no rhyme or reason to it sometimes. I liked the idea of personifying an idea, almost treating Karma like a person and asking them all of the questions I had about the world and people around me. In terms of the sound, we spent a lot of time on it to capture what the three of us authentically make in a room together, all the while sounding anthemic. There wasn’t any direct inspiration in making it, although we are always listening to bands. 'The Bends' by Radiohead and 'Dark Side of the Moon' by Pink Floyd are two records that were on repeat at the time."
What’s coming next for you guys?
"We have an EP officially finished and are gearing up to release the second song soon before we release the project in its entirety. We are also going to be playing a lot of shows soon and are working out the details. We’re honestly really excited!"
'Where's Karma?' is out now. Listen HERE @blindmirrorband
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