MIMIR

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Release date and tracklist

July 6, 2005
US 7″ Brainwashed brain010

1. side one – [MP3]
2. side one – [MP3]

March 21, 2015
NL MP3 self-released on Bandcamp

1. Mimir- The Single Side A 04:38
2. Mimir- The Single Side A 04:45

Credits

• Christoph Heemann
• Edward Ka-Spel
• Andreas Martin
• The Silverman

Cover artwork by Monika Kwiecinska

Notes

Released in a limited edition of 500 on clear ‘frosty’ vinyl.
All pre-orders included a DVD-R which contains a video-registration of the very first Mimir performance recorded in February 2005 in Antwerp, Belgium, as well as a clips of The Legendary Pink Dots, Andreas Martin, and Mirror.

from the Bandcamp release:
Culled from the sessions for Mimir’s as yet unreleased 4th album, there’s more than a hint of sadness about the music on display here. Missing from the musical melting pot at the source was Andreas Martin who broke his wrist in an accident – in fact his guitar parts were added later. The accident also meant that Mimir’s first ever live show (in Nevers, France) didn’t happen.  Still it makes a fine listen.  The single was released by the ever-supportive Brainwashed label and website in 2005.  Cover art is by Monika Kwiecinska. A big thank you to Jon Whitney!

Reviews

What it is that defines a supergroup? The fame of it’s members, but I’m sure out there are enough people who never heard of Edward Ka-spel, The Silverman, Andreas Martin, Christoph Heeman and Jim O’Rourke, yet from my perspective some of them gained real fame with whatever they are doing and their supergroup is therefore Mimir. Not that they are very active, since their releases in the last fifteen or so years can be counted on the fingers of one hand. Earlier this year they played a very rare gig, in Antwerpen, Belgium, guesting also Timo van Luyck (Af Ursin). The whole proceedings where captured on video and come on a limited DVD-R with this 7″. The 7″ captures two tunes, albeit very short, but a great showcase of Mimir’s music, which is the sum of many influences: the krautrock psychedelia of The Legendary Pink Dots, the minimalism of Andreas Martin’s guitar playing and the deep drone works of Mirror. The a-side is more Mirror and the b-side more Pink Dots. Two sides of the same coin. How they come together is best witnessed while viewing the DVD-R of the concert. Slowly it builds up through a web of drones, then slowly adding a rhythm and a counterpart of it, and an acoustic guitar slides in. Everybody is full on concentration and seeing your heroes sweat is always a good thing! – Frans de Waard,Vital Weekly

Brainwashed continues its 7-inch single series with an alluring slab of thick clear vinyl featuring two untitled pieces by Mimir (Edward Ka-Spel and The Silverman aka Phil Knight of The Legendary Pink Dots, Christoph Heemann, Andreas Martin, and Jim O’Rourke). Side one adopts an improvised psychedelic-folk feel as droning ripples segue into metronomic clicking pulses and Indian hand-drum rhythms overlaid by acoustic strums. More atmospheric by comparison, the other side is a haunted drone of peaceful thrums, swooping electronics, and natural field noises (moans and bird sounds). As befits its single status (though hardly characteristic of the drone genre), be aware that, while each piece conceivably could last a half-hour or more, Mirmir keeps them short. Still, get it while you can, especially when the first fifty pre-orders come with a DVD-R containing footage of the first Mirmir show recorded in Antwerp in February 2005. – Ron Schepper, Textura

Taken from a session recorded a few years back, itís difficult to pinpoint exactly who did what with which black box (Mimir’s membership includes Christoph Heemann, Edward Ka-Spel, Andreas Martin, Phil Knight and Jim OíRourke) on this serving of quality single tone drone. Some milky shuddering movement in the aural undergrowth reveals distant pealing bells from some Shyamalan village just beyond the artworkís moody snowbound wood. Turning over, and again untitled, Mimir introduce a slow burning smattering electronic clicking that builds into a looking glass hip-hop beat with metal percussive touches. Mooring it even closer to convention is the growling buzzing sounds that are budged step by step into an unambiguous melody. – Scott McKeating, Stylus

MIMIR

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Release date and tracklist

1999
DE LP Streamline 1012 inside image

2002
DE CD Streamline 1012
available here

side a

1. untitled
2. untitled
3. untitled
4. untitled

side b

1. untitled
2. untitled
3. untitled

March 27, 2015
NL Enhanced MP3 self-released on Bandcamp

1. Untitled Parts 1 – 6 40:00

Credits

• Christoph Heemann
• Edward Ka-Spel
• Andreas Martin
• The Silverman
• Jim O’Rourke

Notes

LP manufactured in the US by Anomalous. Limited to 950 copies green vinyl and 100 on black vinyl, both packaged with a color postcard.

CD manufactured in the US by Drag City, 2002. The music has not been noticably remixed from the LP edition.

Moonwise the dance began, and we were so quickly lashed into a frenzy by the rhythm of Christabel’s drum and the powerful vapors from the stramonium, vervaine, and musk boiling in the pot. The goats pranced around us in an outer circle, bleating. The air was filled with a humming and a drumming of wings, and millions of bumble bees gathered over our heads and formed a great female figure over the boiling cauldron. The swarm shimmered and shook in the formation of giantness. The figure buzzed and shimmered, then somewhere from the depths of the body made from so many millions of bees came a voice so unbearably sweet that we felt drowned in honey…’ — from Leonora Carrington: The Hearing Trumpet. The Obvious: Mimir is the third album by the group consisting of Jim O’Rourke, Andreas Martin, Silverman, Christoph Heemann and Edward Kaspel. It was recorded between 1993 and 1997. This CD reissues the limited edition LP version from 1999.

notes from Bandcamp:
The 3rd excursion with Jim O’Rourke joining Christoph, Andreas, EK and The Silverman.  A voyage that begins like the aural equivalent of a few choice splashes of paint on a wide open canvas. Then slowly the colours move in….Mixed and produced by Christoph.  Enhancement is subtle.

Contrary to popular belief, the 3 Mimir albums ARE still available on cd from: www.dragcity.com/products/mimyriad.  I strongly recommend a visit to Christoph’s own website where it’s possible to buy his music directly: www.christophheemann.de.  The music of Andreas is harder to track down but keep your eyes peeled for the wonderful 10″ “Doppelpunkt Vor Ort” on Robot Records and his self-released CDR , “Live Im Loft”.   Jim has a Bandcamp page for his wonderful “Steamroom” project – here is the link: steamroom.bandcamp.com

Mimir is the highly adventurous, quietly experimental music of musicians Edward Ka-Spel of the Legendary Pink Dots, ubiquitous out-music guitarist Jim O’Rourke, Christoph Heeman, textures whiz Seeman, and Andreas Martin. There are six untitled tracks here, each one completely different than its predecessor. Track one is a gorgeous miniature ambient soundscape with violins, whirring sounds of wind coming through strings, and there’s a gentle wash of keyboards and lots of well-placed silence. Track two, however, is a meditation on multi-tracking guitars that are playing a country shuffle not unlike moments in Bob Dylan’s “Nashville Skyline Rag.” Motion and travel are the themes as the guitars endlessly repeat open country themes that get underscored by unidentifiable sounds and noises and are extrapolated upon by still other guitars while never losing their central riff. The side closes with a fairly insistent, though dark and airy guitar/piano duet enhanced with streams of white noise and feedback Side two is a batch of electronically manipulated tape studies, where some instruments enter the fray, but mostly it feels like spliced and manipulated tape. And since there are no credits on the thing other than the band members’ names, there is nothing to do but guess. It’s compelling, however, in a nightmarish sort of way. These final three tracks create a different kind of tapestry than the first side, instead of laid-back mysterious beauty, the offer a paranoid set of figures for listener’s to meditate upon as they grow tenser with each passing moment. On green vinyl and limited to a run of 950 numbered copies, this is an out-music fan’s fetish of choice. – Thom Jurek, All Music Guide

Mimir is back with their third and finest album to date. Mimir is something of an ambient supergroup, comprised of Christoph Heemann, Andreas Martin (both ex H.N.A.S. members), Edward Ka-Spel, the Silverman (both leading members of the Legendary Pink Dots), and the prolific Jim O’Rourke. The music is incredible, masterfully recorded and mixed by Heemann, and it really does defy easy description. Side one is a brilliant collage of ambience, noise, loops, drums and some beautiful melodies for guitar. This music occupies a space all on its own, and fills the house with elements of incongruous beauty. Side two is much more quiet and deep, and is divided into more distinct movements. It is less acoustic and more organic, with subtle stylings fading in and out of the mix. You can recognise all the key players here, but especially Ka-Spel’s tendency toward analogue loops (the opening sequence has you riding on the tracks of a familiar aural train ride straight from his earlier records). Stunning work, and highly recommended. This one’s limited to 950, folks, so you’d better act quickly. – Richard di Santo, Incursion

The third album from post-rock post-kraut post-goth supergroup Mimir features members Christoph Heemann and Andreas Martin of HNAS, Edward Ka-Spel and The Silverman of Legendary Pink Dots with seminal guitarist/producer/noise artist/Spice Girls fan Jim O’Rourke. This LP-only release from Anomalous comes in a limited edition of 950 green vinyl copies (and 50 black). The soundscapes are wonderful and the acoustic guitar adds a dimension completely foreign to most LPD and HNAS works. The LP is released nearly 6 years after the second CD, “Mimyriad” was released also on Streamline. It’s dreamy and serene, only after being harsh, percussive and abrasive for quite a few minutes. The album is very charming and hard to pinpoint exactly what happens where as nothing’s labelled anywhere. Of course that’s all supposed to make for a more interactive listening experience, right? Okay, I’ll admit it’s becoming increasingly hard to describe. Well, you’ll just have to trust me on this one – don’t pass the album up if you’re a fan of O’Rourke or the spacious Silverman or noisy HNAS works. – Jon Whitney, Brainwashed

MIMIR

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Release date and tracklist

1993
DE CD Streamline CD 1001 inside image

1. untitled
   [includes “December…Whatever”]

***

1999
DE LP Streamline LP 1001

side a

1. untitled – [MP3]
2. untitled

side b

1. untitled
2. untitled – [MP3]
3. untitled
4. untitled – [MP3]

***
August 28, 2007
US CD Streamline 1001R
available here

1. untitled – [MP3]
2. untitled
3. untitled
4. untitled – [MP3]
5. untitled
6. untitled – [MP3]

***

March 22, 2015
NL Enhanced (first edition cd) MP3  self-released on Bandcamp

1. Mimyriad  49:12

March 28, 2015
NL Enhanced (vinyl edition) MP3 self-released on Bandcamp

1. Mimyriad 1
2. Mimyriad 2
3. Mimyriad 3
4. Mimyriad 4
5. Mimyriad 5
6. Mimyriad 6

Credits

• Christoph Heemann
• Edward Ka-Spel
• Andreas Martin
• Elke Pueker
• The Silverman
• Jim O’Rourke

Notes

1993 release:
Manufactured in the US by Anomalous.  This album incorporates the track “December…Whatever”, which was originally released on the compilation LP “Perpetual State of Oracular Dream” [Baader-Meinhof VA-001].

1999 release:

Manufactured in the US by Anomalous. The music on the LP edition has been remixed and re-edited from the CD and the songs have been separated, however it does not include “December…Whatever.”

Released in an edition of 1053 records: 550 were purple vinyl with a numbered sticker.

2007 release:
The same mix as issued on the LP from 1999.

Supergroups don’t come much more super than Mimir: Christoph Heemann and bro Andreas Martin (H.N.A.S.), Ed Ka-Spel (Legendary Pink Dots) and Jim O’Rourke (Gastr del Sol, Brise-Glase, collaborations with Kaiser, Prevost, Null, Muller, extensive solo output) all teaming up for Mimyriad, one 49-minute track of gliding tonal float. It’s possible to hear elements of all three creative axes – HNAS’s piercing, swooping drone, Ka-Spel’s flubbering weirdness, and O’Rourke’s sourceless, motionless sound – but the beauty of it all is the editing [accomplished by Christoph Heemann], which makes radical direction changes seem rational whilst allowing them to somehow return to their proper impact and which juxtaposes many disparate elements, blending them into one seamless, fluid whole. – Opprobrium 1993

***

A so well executed and thought out that it leaves a residue of feeling like it is a rare jewel sitting behind glass, so close yet unreachable. Still, the jewel is stunning, possessing both reflective musical distraction and also clear depth to hypnotize with possibility. The majority of the disc is the ultra spacey terrain laid out on the first release, but where that was like being cut from the ship to float eternally, this one at least gives you a propulsion pack to create some direction. The recording is nicely bookended with elegant classic euro art-rockish passages featuring very groovy acoustic guitar riffing. A beautiful recording all in all. – ND 1993