Written by: Judy Lyon
Photo Credit: Nate Taylor
Read Judy Lyon’s interview with Black Needle Noise’s John Fryer:
Read SEM’s review of Black Needle Noise’s Teeth To Grey:
Mimi Page is a singer-songwriter, producer and composer born and raised in Los Angeles, California. Her cinematic music and ethereal vocals have been featured in a multitude of soundtracks and scores for acclaimed films, television, and video games. Her latest collaboration is with the legendary sonic architect John Fyer’s Black Needle Noise. A 50/50 partnership between Fryer and many different talented singer/songwriters, including Page, Attasalina, ZiaLand, Omniflux, Jarboe, Betsy Martin, Andrea Kerr, Ledfoot, Spectra Paris, Jennie Vee, Ana Breton, Kendra Frost, Elena Alice Fossi, Antic Clay, Andreas Elvenes, and Bill Leeb, Black Needle Noise is awash in dark, ethereal beauty.
Page spoke to SEM about “Swimming Through Dreams,” her contribution to the BNN project.
Stereo Embers Magazine: John Fryer says, “Every song should be like its own movie, you should close your eyes and get taken to a different place.” Where do you see “Swimming Through Dreams” taking you?
Mimi Page: “Swimming Through Dreams” is more of a reflective and meditative experience than a linear song. Much like dreaming, our intention was to create an enigmatic yet peaceful sonic world that one can enter and use to explore their imagination.
SEM: Tell me a little about your creative process with John Fryer.
MP: Early 4AD and bands like Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil were the soundtracks to my youth. I was really excited to create with John, since he was one of the original pioneers of Dream Pop, a genre that inspired my own artistry and that I classify my own music as. Since we were both residing in different countries at the time, we created “Swimming Through Dreams” remotely from our separate studios. John originally sent me over an idea that was a lot darker, electronic and beat-driven. What resonated with me were the last 8 bars of his idea, when the beat dropped out and a beautiful ethereal pad took over and ended the song. I asked John if we could take the song in a more ambient direction and he said ‘absolutely’. I looped the last 8 bars of his pad and created a choir of my own vocals with about 12 different harmonies stacked on top of each other. I then reversed all the vocals and processed them with a ridiculous amount of reverb and delay. John then restructured and built onto what I gave him, and added his wonderful dreamy guitar. I love what we created, and it was wonderful experience to create without limitations and expectations.
SEM: What are some of your past, present, or future projects that you’d like to note?
MP: I alternate between creating my own solo albums, collaborating with other artists, and composing music for film and video games. I released my last solo record The Ethereal Blues at the end of 2015 and dove straight into scoring two documentary features. One of which, “The Trade”, is currently in the festival circuit and just had its original score released this year. Right now I’m finishing the original score for an awesome space exploration video game called “Ancient Frontier” which will be out this summer, 2017.
For more information on Mimi Page please go to www.mimipage.com or visit her on bandcamp:
