Mira Calix is coming full circle.
A striking, groundbreaking musician, her new album ‘absent origin’ is out on November 5th, released via historic UK independent powerhouse Warp Records.
It’s an association that has played a key part in Mira’s catalogue, and comes 25 years after her first release on Warp.
Indeed, that release was actually the first (of many) from female musicians on the label, who have so often guided the imprint’s avant grade ethos.
For this special edition of Seven Tracks we invited Mira Calix to focus on the Warp lineage, and she responded by illuminating some of the voices who inspire her.
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Mira Calix – ‘there is always a girl with a secret’
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‘there is always a girl with a secret’ is from my new album absent origin, I figured I’d start this selection by blowing my own trumpet… somebody has to… I made the music and the video both, playfully exploring the collage thematic at the heart of this record. It’s an album about edges and borders, in terms of the role our origin plays out in geopolitical terms and in reference to the absence of the clear origin of materials in the practice of collage.
On this track you can hear the voices of a South African choir I originally wrote a more conventional choral score for a few years ago for a sound sculpture I created for the London Olympics. Here I’ve reconfigured their voices to form new rhythmic structures and textures.
For the video I created small stop frame collage animations and then edited them all together. I danced my way through making most of this album and hey the video too… as you can see. I find dancing quite the tonic when the world is strange and not exactly reassuring…
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Broadcast – ‘Come On Let’s Go’
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Broadcast and I released our debut albums in the same year and often performed together. If you haven’t seen it, there’s a great Warp mini-documentary by Vincent Moon, titled – And Thee, Echo – made in 2009, featuring Trish and myself. I am still very sorry for her passing, she was a great musician, lyricist and all-round lovely human.
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Flying Lotus ft. Tierra Whack – ‘Yellow Belly’
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The first time I heard Tierra Whack on the radio it was love! Her voice is so woozy, flexible resonant, constantly in motion, her flow is so distinct and off-kilter. I collaborate a lot in my wider practice and this sounds like really successful collaboration – I feel like they’re skipping down some boozy street at 3am, I do hope they keep doing more. Who else could make some untied shoes sound so delightful.
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Seefeel – Fracture
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Seefeel have changed line up since their original Warp releases in the 90s but Mark Clifford and Sarah Peacock have been a constant. You can’t hear Sarah’s gorgeous voice on this particular track, but it’s expanding mechanical rhythm has always made it one of my favourites. Mark is the most prolific musician I know, he just mostly keeps his amazing output to himself. we worked to-gether a lot over the years – releasing an album titled ‘lost foundling’ on Andrea Parker’s Aperture Label in 2010.
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Leila – ‘The Exotics’
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I’m a big fan of Leila’s ‘Like Weather’ LP on XL, this track is from her Warp album – ‘Blood, Looms and Blooms’. The Exotics is an evocative kaleidoscopic swirl of sounds, that i think we could loosely file under audio collage. Leila a is a really gifted and inventive DJ and producer, and was a core member of Bjork’s band. Look closely and you’ll spot her name pop up on several produc-tions.
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Stereolab – ‘Metronomic Underground’
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A bit of a cheat, as their back catalogue has only recently been released on Warp Records. I got them all the first time round and was really lucky to catch the formidable Laetitia Sadler perform ‘Paroles’ a new release with Jarvis Cocker, live at a little intimate show after the premiere of Wes Anderson’s new film. She’s kind of magnificent, as are all the women in the band, hard to pick just one track, but it occurred to me, that there’s a nice little vehicular link with my latest release, transport me, and this tune, which is one of my favourites.
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Lonelady – ‘Fear Colours’
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If you’ve got this far you may have realised, that I’ve decided to focus on the female artistic output on Warp Records with an affirmative selction. I was the first solo female artist signed to the label. Lonelady is a more recent signing. This is taken from her summer release – ‘Former Things’ – it makes me feel a bit like a teenager, a bit Wendy and Lisa / Sheila Easton… a reference maybe only the Prince fans will get.
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‘absent origin’ will be released on November 5th.
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