The Aarhus-based Danish-American Mira Siegel has one foot in the classical world (she’s studied at the Royal Academy of Music) and the other in contemporary music, which is a combination that is always worth checking out to see what you find. She blends elements of jazz, folk, and chamber music and her mission is to build bridges between those genres.
On August 15th, she releases ‘Aftermath’ – the first single from her forthcoming debut album ‘Empty Streets’, which is due out on October 24th.
With titles like that, allied to the Mad World we’re living in right now. I was expecting something quite dystopian and depressing, like World War 3 had been visited on Aarhus, or the Living Dead had arisen from their rest.
As it turns out it is nothing of the sort. In fact the way ‘Aftermath’ starts you’d be forgiven for thinking you’d strolled into the foyer of the Ritz Hotel just as they were serving afternoon tea and cucumber sandwiches while she gave a piano recital.
However it isn’t all sweetness and light either.
‘Aftermath’ was written in the wake of a personal crisis and captures the emotional landscape that follows a violent upheaval.
Based on her own experiences with illness in her immediate family and a subsequent period of depression, Mira wrote the song at the beginning of her healing process, when she finally had room to “feel.”
And that does come out in the song. There is a sense of serenity about it, but the sort of tranquility that arises out of a period of tension that simply cannot continue any longer.
‘Aftermath’ is arranged for voice, piano, double bass, and the seven-piece string ensemble Who Killed Bambi, whom we have twice before featured in NMC, supporting Hvalfugl and Victor Aage.
One of Mira’s objectives is to create a cinematic soundscape (she describes her creations as “film music – without film”) but that doesn’t really come across so much in this particular composition unless it was in connection, say, with a Disney Princess weeping over the body of her slain Prince.
What does shine through is her mastery of chamber music. It could accompany any number of period drama pieces on BBC4.
The final part, the outro if you like, is given over to Who Killed Bambi, and in one brief, minute-long piece, they paint a vivid picture of the exit from the depression instrumentally, better than any lyric could do.
The song could have ended, at three minutes and thirty seconds, without that added outro and would have been perfectly fine, but by including it Mira pulled off a master stroke.
‘Aftermath’ possesses style, grace, class and elegance and while it isn’t likely to be heading the Billboard 100 next week if it is typical of the standard of the album then that will absolutely be making waves amongst the musical cognoscenti come October.
Find her on:
Website: https://mirasiegelmusic.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mira.siegel (where she sends herself up – or at least I assume that’s what she is doing – with the name Mirror Seagull).
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mirasiegelmusic/
