Mirry – Mirry

Track Listing:

1. Anthem
2. Idyll
3. Study in B flat minor
4. Caragh Lake
5. Study in F
6. Consolation
7. Reverie
8. Anthem Reprise
9. Nicholas and Alexandra

Recorded:

Tom Fraser & Simon Tong during lockdown 2020 from March to September.

Strict rules applied: no midi, only real sounds recorded, so drums were hit, guitars and basses played, casios, rolands, yamaha, mellotron keyboards. You could argue that reverb and delay added after is a cheat.. and i feel a bit bad about that.

Reviews:

Been making  music since 1980 (i think) and i found mirrys record in 1985 or 86. Then in March 2020 Simon Tong asks me if i’ve got any ideas for music and i mention this old Transco record i had found and been meaning / planning  to do something  with soon-y. We muck about for a few months sending  each other mixes and adding to each other’s ideas.  Then he plays it to Kirsteen McNish, she plays it Rupert at Drift / Dinked / Dutchess and off it all goes. Really really REALLY… odd.

but before anyone else wrote anything about the music Norman records reviewed it and i always rather liked this:

It’s always incredible going into an album without knowing a thing about it, listening to it, and absolutely loving it. We put on an advance stream of ‘Mirry’ on the shop stereo and it engaged at least four of our staff members immediately, with chimes of ‘this is fantastic, who is it?’ and ‘this is very “us”’. This was all before we knew a single thing about its moving concept and how it transpired.

Mirry is a project of Edinburgh musician Tom Fraser and his brother-in-law Simon Tong of The Verve and The Good, the Bad and the Queen. Fraser was clearing out his late grandfather’s house when he stumbled across an acetate record of piano compositions from his great aunt Mirry. These recordings had remained secret from the entire family for her whole lifetime, and Tom thought it right to give them the attention they deserved, reworking the aged and battered vinyl into a complete album which became ‘Mirry’.

‘Anthem’ begins with half a minute of solo piano, sounding decrepit yet invitingly warm. It becomes embellished with tabla-like percussion, melodic bass, and creeping horns, then the strings come in and oh my, it’s a stirring feat of gut-wrenching beauty. ‘Idyll’ never sits still, moving from minimalist ambience to a birdsong embellished upbeat waltz and returning to the glorious soundscapes. ‘Study In F’ builds slowly from raindrop snares and reversed pianos into near-constant kicks, offering the most ‘electronic’ sounding piece on the record which wouldn’t sound out of place on Four Tet’s ‘Rounds’. We hear Mirry’s voice for the first time as ‘Anthem Reprise’ ends, as her heart-warming singing and chuckles lead into the glacial strings, choral croons, and fractured chords of the dazzling closer ‘Nicholas and Alexandra’.

‘Mirry’ is an incredibly difficult album to pigeonhole genre wise. The output of the Clay Pipe label could be an apt comparison, as it boasts a sound which is simultaneously hauntological, yet organic, cosy and tender. They match The Caretaker’s method of toying with memory through aged recordings, albeit with a more positive and celebratory spin. It’s also got folktronica, post-rock, chamber pop, and dream pop stylings weaved through its instrumentation and production.

Whilst our loved ones may not be with us, their history and past remain open for study and exploration. ‘Mirry’ is a touching tribute and homage, but also sadly highlights that women throughout history have had to hide their talents and gifts instead of sharing them with the world. I’d like to think that generations to come might come across this album in a century or so’s time, unearthing the delights of ‘Mirry’ in the same way which Tom uncovered his great aunt’s work.

Yup, that still makes me cry.

You can see a lot more reviews from this page>