‘New Single’ is where a band or artist answers a couple of quick questions about their latest Single release. Up next is Lochie from Mirror Ritual (FKA Transistor), who have just released new single Fear in All.

What the song is about lyrically?
This is lyrically one of our more outwardly minded songs. It’s a meditation on that intersection between culture and politics, as well as how we’re increasingly becoming paralysed by modern day anxieties. It seems like we’re on the threshold of everything collapsing, without much guidance and hope coming from the people we expect it from.

Who produced/recorded it? Did the track come together in the studio, or at home?
We recorded and produced the track ourselves. I kind of use Mirror Ritual (and The Spectre Collective, another band I’m in) as a vehicle to practice and explore what we’re capable of doing ourselves recording & mixing-wise, and how far we can push it. There’s a lot of layers in this one, especially during the outro. It was a real test balancing out all of the mellotron strings and flutes, autoharps, nylon guitar plucks, harmonies and synths.

Were there any gear or effects that you used in the mix to get the sound you were after?
One interesting sound in ‘Fear In All’ is that weird drum machine loop that runs throughout the track. We recorded that by running the original rhythm through a guitar amp and pedals, micing that up, and then messing around with it timing-wise in post. The arpeggiated synthesiser lines during the chorus parts were programmed and recorded individually per chord, which took a while! I tend to sample our own recordings and even cross pollinate between songs – there’s a real anything goes attitude in the recording/mixing stages.

Is this a stand-alone track or part of an upcoming album or EP?
It’s a standalone track… for now!