Mirror Gazer
Photo by, John Gutierrez
Meet Mirror Gazer
By way of Portland, Mirror Gazer is a Brooklynite after our own hearts with his eclectic, spacey, and grooved out tunes. Lacing house music with ambient, electronic tones and a hip-hop handling, this artist will transplant you straight into a smokey and sweet lounge, with some serious Studio 54 vibes.
Fresh off his latest release, we gab about the versatility of Vans, a familial influence, and get a good gear rec.
“ROCK MUSIC” A fill in the blank with Mirror Gazer
Young people today would rather listen to a good rock music concert than to Johann Sebastian CLINTON or to Ludvig von WYATT. Rock music is played by RUN groups of young men who wear their hair below their TOYS. They also wear very odd and colorful CARS and often have beards. The groups have attractive names such as "The FISHES" or "DON CHEADLE and The Three GUITARS." They usually play electric PANTS. One member of the group usually sits on a raised platform and sets the rhythm by beating his WATER. The songs are mostly about some fellow who has been rejected by his GOLD. They are very sad and when young girls hear them, they often get tears in their SHOES.
Would You Rather
have snails for hair or large bats for feet? Please explain your answer?
I'd rather have snails for hair, I think it'd pretty hard to walk with bats as feet, low mobility is depressing.
Some Questions with Mirror Gazer
If one part of your body could be detachable which would it be? What would you do with it?
I would detach my eye and just examine it, the thought of detaching any body part is not Particularly a pleasant thought.
How did the project, Mirror Gazer, come to be?
I had a project named Onuinu when I lived in Portland, OR. I released an Onuinu album named Mirror Gazer in 2012, I ended Onuinu when I moved to New York in 2013. I signed with Fresh Selects in 2017, I wanted to use a different moniker for the new project to give myself a fresh start. I made a long list of new monikers, but after much deliberation, I decided to use the album title as the new moniker, it just felt right with where I was in my life over the past few years.
Your music sprawls hip-hop, electronica, and house. What drew you to these styles and how do you hope to add to them?
I developed my early taste in music from my sister and brother, they'd let me borrow their CDs/ Tapes and I'd make my own mixtapes from those.
Those early years mainly developed my love of Hip-Hop and Rock music. I developed a love for jazz A little later on, Miles Davis was a big inspiration, I’d like to explore that territory more in my future releases. I developed a love for electronic and Indie when I moved to Portland, OR in 2005.
I’d like to make a cohesive sound of all my influences and steadily progress into new musical territory and continually try different things that excite and challenge me.
What shoes do you wear most often? Why?
I was wearing vans quite a bit until recently, they're inexpensive and come in a lot of colors so it's easy to change them up with any outfit.
Do you have a piece of musical gear that you are really into right now?
I just bought an MPC Live, I made my first album on an MPC and haven't made anything on one in years, I'm excited to work with it again, I love the sequencing.
How has your style changed since moving from Portland to Brooklyn?
Rock music has always had a huge influence on me. I was gravitating into that realm before I moved to New York, I just fully embraced that side of myself with this last release. I’d like to tap into it a lot further and really dive deep and arrive at something that feels fresh.
What was the creative drive behind your 2020 album "Ordeal Erasure"?
I wanted to make a new album for a long time after my first release, life got in the way, and then one day I decided this is something I have to start and finish, and here I am today. I hadn’t had a proper release in so long and it felt kind of ridiculous that so much time had elapsed between my first release and the current.
Any final comments? (This is your electronic soapbox for one last answer.)
I’m going to release more music at a faster rate in the future.