Miroist Interview!

First of all thank you for taking the time talking us here at DWTV , you recently recorded a 3 track EP called The Pledge. How was the recording Process? Is there any concept behind it ? and where can people find it?

Hey, thank you for having me!

The Pledge is available for free on Bandcamp http://miroist.bandcamp.com/.  The idea behind the EP was to try and combine my joint love of post-rock and progressive metal and create something dark, heavy and murky.  I wanted to get away from the highly processed, digital style of djent and do something with a more organic feel.  There is an overall concept, and lots of effort went into creating a theme and the artwork and the whole package, but at its heart it's just about making decent music, otherwise its all bullshit.

Writing and recording took place over about 5 months.  I basically learned how to mix from the ground up over that time, and I've still plenty to learn.  I've been in bands before (none anyone has heard of), and dabbled in recording, but this time it was just me, and I could be responsible for the whole writing and the recording process.  It took a lot of work, but I really enjoyed it and am really pleased with the final result.  The best part of it was working with my good friend Chris Lees on the artwork, I think his designs are incredible and fit the EP perfectly. 

Do you feel like the Pledge has been received well by fans?

So far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive.  I started from scratch and released a dodgy demo in November that a few people seemed to like, and then just disappeared into making the EP until April. So, I wasn't expecting anything from it, but so far, with the help of an amazing and supportive scene people are finding my music and seem to be really digging it, so it has been a really good few months and huge thanks to everyone who has supported me so far.

What pulled you into the Progressive Metal/"djent" scene? , How did Miroist start?

Inevitably, the answer here is going to be Meshsuggah, though I was listening to Mnemic and Tool before them.  I've been making music for many years, but have always struggled to tie my influences together.  I've always been inspired by the cinematics of post-rock music, it's heavy in a totally different way, and that's one sound, perhaps Cloudkicker aside, that hasn't really made it into the djent sound.  I wanted to create huge walls of sound and play with dynamics, and have interesting grooves and kinetic riffs.  It's taken a while to piece all that together.

What Bands do you take influence from?

Godspeed You Black Emperor, The Twilight Sad, Cloudkicker, Vildhjarta, Meshuggah, Boards Of Canada, Autechre.

Where did the name Miroist come from?

It's just a word I made up.

What do you think of the "djent" scene at this moment in time , do you think there is more to come from it , or is it slowly turning stagnant?

The sound was blessed with some exceptionally talented people in the early days - Misha, Acle, Chimpy etc weren't just brilliant musicians and players, they were also skilled *producers* too.  Unfortunately I think that's had the knock-on effect of blurring the musical aspects with production aspects of it - there's a passionate interest in how it's produced that I don't really see in any other form of music.  But if everyone aims for "8string EMG hyper-compressed syncopated riffing with glitch interludes" it's going to start sounding the same because only one part of that is anything to do with what you're going to do in the music.  It's just going to take more than a few years for things to diversify.  Sure I think there are some copycat bands, but that's the same in every genre and I don't think djent has any more of a 'problem' than other styles. There's a huge wealth of support from the fans, the level of engagement is incredible, and djent continues to be blessed by many forward thinking and unique musicians too.

Any plans for Miroist becoming a live band , or will it simply stay a "studio project"?

I would love to take Miroist live and I'm looking for the right musicians to do it.  There's no rush though.

Whats in store for the rest of 2012? Any big plans?

I've started work on a full length album, though I have no set timescale and can't say when it will be out. I can say that it won't contain any of the songs on The Pledge because recycling is boring - I like creating new music and see no reason to revisit things once I've put them out.

HUGE thanks to everyone who's downloaded, purchased or listened to the EP so far, and thanks to DWTV for the continued support!


We'd like to thank Miroist for taking the time to answer some of our questions , we wish him luck with his album recording!!!!