MIRNA RAY

Krautrock • United Kingdom

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Mirna Ray biography
MIRNA RAY was formed in London in 2006 by the DZIERBUŃ brothers, Marcin and Bartek, who emigrated to the UK some years earlier from a small town in Poland called Paczk�w. Although the project was started purely as a duo, they were occasionally joined for live performances in the early days by the German double bassist Ulf MENGERSEN. The nascent MIRNA RAY thus essentially consisted of just Bartek DZIERBUŃ (guitar, baritone guitar, vocals, samples, synthesizer) and Marcin DZIERBUŃ (drums, samples).

The DZIERBUŃ brothers had been involved in the music scene for a few years before they created MIRNA RAY, perfecting their skills by co-creating the bands PORT-O-SAN and SLOW NEWS DAY as well as collaborating with other bands such as RACESCENE and NEW TELEPATHICS. However, they eventually came to the conclusion that they could work more efficiently and faster, whilst also enjoying more creative flexibility, by making music simply as a duo.

Whenever they recorded a piece of music during rehearsals, and then listened back to it only to find that it reminded them of some other band, they would rework the piece over and over until they could hear no more associations with other artists. This approach to creating music, along with their policy of only buying equipment with character - meaning mostly pre-1990s gear - is what shapes MIRNA RAY's highly original overall sound.

The brothers' influences are many - though they are particularly fond of bands such as FUGAZI, AT THE DRIVE-IN, SONIC YOUTH, etc - and MIRNA RAY is well known for its intense live performances. Their music isn't easy to define though, combining elements of electronic music, ambient sound samples, guitar loops and feverish drum beats. This results in an explosive live concoction of 80s new wave, shoegaze, noise, ambient sounds and contemporary electronics.

The brothers are also heavily inspired by literature from writers such as the Polish writer and painter Witkacy (Stanisław Ignacy Witkiewicz) and the American novelists and poets Jack Kerouac and Charles Bukowski.

MIRNA RAY's first release was a self-released and self-titled EP in 2007, followed by an album called "Teatr Cieni Abrakadabry" in 2009, and they had four tours in Poland in 2008, 2009, 2010 & 2011 - as well as concerts in the UK, Germany, Switzerland and Hungary. The band signed up with the Bandcamp platform in early May 2015, and a month later self-released a 5-track EP entitled...read more