Mirror Mirror is the solo project of musical troubadour Ondre Davis. Hailing from Palm Beach & the Gold Coast, this wonder wizard has just popped out his debut EP, First Glance. Dropping on the 7th of June, we were lucky enough to get our eager little mitts on a copy of it early for you. The EP combines elements of 70s simmering soul with contemporary jazz to bring you four nourishing tracks encompassing themes of love, introspection and adventure. Each track is a different journey, ranging from experimental freakality to funk to lust & limerence. Ondre opened up a can of illumination and ran us through the process of conjuring the EP:
“I recorded First Glance in my studio with equipment I have collected over the years. I wrote and recorded all the parts on all instruments heard in this EP. I sectioned the month out to focus on one instrument at a time, focusing on practising the parts played and how I wanted the instruments recorded. Microphone placement for each instrument played a major roll in getting the correct sound for my inspiration. Once having these sounds and parts figured out it was time to record and begin mixing. I spent the following month mixing and listening to this EP on repeat until I was happy with it”
So then, let's jump into the fruits of his labour. Without further ado, 'It's Been Some Time' bubbles to the surface first. The opening track draws us in with a dreamscape of piano & synth, before opening up to a sly beat. The pulse is lazy & lethargic, accompanied by whale-noise harmonies and an ethereal malaise. Each teardrop stroke of the piano evokes another memory of goodbyes and autumn rain, with a cathartic ending of revitalised loungebar keys. A song to listen to when you can't get out of bed in the morning.
Numbre two is a handsome little ditty, one of the singles of the EP, 'Baby Be Mine.' Immediately it takes us away with some 16-bit SNES synthesiser before kicking into hunky arched-brow dreaminess and sparkles, with a smooth moustachioed voice extracted from the 70s. The chorus is very Awaken, My Love! and the drums are ever a-shufflin'. It's a tonic to dissolve all your cares, with a big bridge of Big Band chords & 'Butterfly' guitar. Listen to this one while strutting on the boardwalk by the big blue sea.
'Stay Around' is up next, the second single of the equation. It begins with serene keys and distant voice. The jaunty piano gets wingmanned by some sultry swing guitar and the chords jangle into a Cadbury ad, complete with a Willy Wonka bridge. This is the song the record needle hits when you twirl around in your shiny shoes and face a special someone on the bed. This song will turn you into a tender porn star for the night.
The final act of our concerto is the uptempo 'Since You've Been On My Mind.' It starts off like a track from a surf of the radio, slowly building to a crescendo. As the tuning needle homes in on the station, the track swings in prim and proper. A blast of ABBA disco fever and Ondre gets croonin'. The piece builds to some ecstatic SEGA guitar & piano groove and it fades out from whence it came, back into the station soup. This little snippet completes our journey from bed-bound melancholy to a smiley night drive with the windows down. Ondre touched on his journey with the EP:
“This EP is quite literally my first effort or first glance into some of the music I enjoy listening to/creating. First track came from my love for ambient instrumental tracks. The two singles came from wanting to create classic love songs and the final was a taste of a more upbeat, dirty disco vibe. All these ideas have inspired me to want to create more music in the future, which is a feeling I am new to since dropping solo gigging. I am super pumped to do more.”
I'm certainly pumped to see more too, and I can't thank Ondre Davis enough. The man behind Mirror Mirror has certainly put his best foot forward with this hallmark release. First Glance may be our first taste of the artist, but he's got big things ahead of him and hearts to fill. Help out Ondre by giving him some support and be sure to keep your ears on this one, because it's not the last we've heard of this honeyed voice and golden chords.
