DEBUT ALBUM FROM FRANCO-IRISH GROUP TO BECOME THIRD RELEASE ON ALAN McGEE’S 359 MUSIC

When the first wave of signings for Alan McGee’s 359 Music label were announced with a video teaser for a track called ‘Atoms’ - a 13-minute magnum opus from Mineral’s forthcoming debut album ‘Plastic Ekphrastic’, out on 28th October, 2013 – it attracted worldwide interest.

So, who are Mineral? Well, imagine an indietronica outfit who hail from Paris and Dublin and cite as their influences Talking Heads, Pixies, Syd Barrett, Kraftwerk, Gainsbourg, The Beach Boys and Béla Bartók. That’s the vision behind the band members Craig Walker, Thierry Fournié, Sophie Armelle and Damien Li. Walker made his name in Irish indie rockers Power Of Dreams, and then trip-hop act Archive, who were huge in France.

With Mineral, Craig teamed up in 2012 with three of the finest musicians in Paris to create a widescreen musical canvas in keeping with the best in French music (Air, Daft Punk) while hinting at soundscapes from around the globe. They’ve even recorded a telling cover of My Bloody Valentine’s ‘When You Sleep’.

Their musical influences are legion, reflecting the band’s four distinct personalities, but they include 60's lysergic pop, the new wave (both of the French and the punk-era variety) and shoegazing. Their favourite bands include Metronomy, Dirty Projectors and MGMT (Thierry), Grandmaster Flash, The Smiths and Dionne Warwick (Craig). As a result, their music has both dark and light, romantic and psychedelic. Their songs evoke the themes of loneliness, love between passion and hate or the absurd and rebellion.

Founding members Craig and Thierry are the two main composers, one directing most melodies, the other the music and production. Sophie brings her voiceprint and ideas for lyrics and melodies. Damien makes the mix. In this sense, Mineral is totally autonomous and independent in the creative process.

The band’s debut single, ‘Serial Monkey’, was released on 30th September, 2013.

Track listing

1) SERIAL MONKEY

2) ATOMS

3) BLEEDING THE BEAST

4) CYNICAL

5) LOVE DIVINE

6) MI-CLOS

7) STONE

8) 1989

9) BRAINWASHED

10) PLASTIC EKPHRASTIC

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