Mirror

Orchestra of Spheres welcomes you on a journey through the looking glass. Mirror, the band’s 4th release on Fire Records, is an exploration of energies and atmospheres, from intense futuristic funk and sonic tape assemblages to windswept reflections from a far flung corner of the world. It combines Orchestra of Spheres’ ecstatic rhythmic power and ritualistic vocals with an expanded orchestral palette including bassoon, harp, viola, bass clarinet, soprano sax, flute and bowed ektars.

The album was recorded at Building M, the home and studio of Warwick Donald, a musician and engineer who’s been recording underground local bands for many years. The band quickly put Warwick’s collec­tion of old New Zealand amps, mics and homemade reverb plates to good use. With the open recording set up and group interplay giving nods towards psychedelic jazz explorations.

OOS dipped into Wellington’s deep pool of creative musical talent to gather the additional timbres that take this musical journey into new sonic realms. Peter Daly’s beautifully tense viola playing on the title track conjures a dark shadowy world. Another highlight is Black and White, where Mos Iocos’s bell-like vocals create a whirlpooling sonic dreamstate.

“Out of the post-apocalyptic wastelands of cultural blandness, OoS bring their utopian sound of DIY instruments, world music and experimental joy” – Alexander Tucker (Grumbling Fur)

“When I saw them live it was an out of body experience” – Robert Scott (The Clean / The Bats)