Mika Posen has contributed violin to a laundry list of Canadian indie acts, and along with once being a member of Timber Timbre, Forest City Lovers and Kite Hill, she's crossed paths with artists such as Broken Social Scene, Feist, Basia Bulat, Maylee Todd, Evening Hymns and Snowblink. But now the Ottawa resident is making music by her lonesome. Her solo project is called Merganzer, and it's under this name that she will release the album Mirror Maze on November 24.
Posen recorded the bulk of the album during a stint living in Berlin in 2013 and 2014. She moved back to Canada in 2015, where she mixed the album with Dave Draves (Kathleen Edwards, Snailhouse, Jim Bryson) at Ottawa's Little Bullhorn Studio.
The album's arrangements are built around a customized machine called a "Mikatron" that Posen created using 90 samples of her own violin (a bit like a Mellotron). According to a press release, "These samples were then processed through different combinations of effect pedals to create unusual, haunting organ-like textures. Dressed up with singing sine waves, home-made beats, violin loops, and plaintive vocal melodies, Mirror Maze leads the listener into a strange but melodious world of experimental pop."
The album cover is above and the tracklist is below. The previously released track "Ganz Grosses Kino" is embedded at the bottom of the page. It's a stately, beautiful neo-classical piece based primarily on piano.
Merganzer has some shows coming up in Ontario and Quebec. The first of these will be at Toronto's Burdock Music Hall on November 26. Posen will be backed by a three-piece band. Stay tuned for further dates.
Mirror Maze:
1. Hygge
2. Mirror Maze
3. Up in Smoke
4. Songs Without Words
5. Other Voices
6. Vltava
7. Ganz Grosses Kino
8. Broken Telephone
9. Roy De Deniers
10. Tritone
Posen recorded the bulk of the album during a stint living in Berlin in 2013 and 2014. She moved back to Canada in 2015, where she mixed the album with Dave Draves (Kathleen Edwards, Snailhouse, Jim Bryson) at Ottawa's Little Bullhorn Studio.
The album's arrangements are built around a customized machine called a "Mikatron" that Posen created using 90 samples of her own violin (a bit like a Mellotron). According to a press release, "These samples were then processed through different combinations of effect pedals to create unusual, haunting organ-like textures. Dressed up with singing sine waves, home-made beats, violin loops, and plaintive vocal melodies, Mirror Maze leads the listener into a strange but melodious world of experimental pop."
The album cover is above and the tracklist is below. The previously released track "Ganz Grosses Kino" is embedded at the bottom of the page. It's a stately, beautiful neo-classical piece based primarily on piano.
Merganzer has some shows coming up in Ontario and Quebec. The first of these will be at Toronto's Burdock Music Hall on November 26. Posen will be backed by a three-piece band. Stay tuned for further dates.
Mirror Maze:
1. Hygge
2. Mirror Maze
3. Up in Smoke
4. Songs Without Words
5. Other Voices
6. Vltava
7. Ganz Grosses Kino
8. Broken Telephone
9. Roy De Deniers
10. Tritone
