Montreal-based singer-songwriter Lisa Iwanycki unveils her first single and music video under the moniker Mirror Mirror. “Imaginary Friend” is the title track from her forthcoming debut EP set to be released on March 3rd, 2023, on Sunset Hill Music (label owned by singer-songwriter Ian Kelly). The song is about the longing for true friendships as we move into a world where we meet online more than in person. As Lisa sings, she is asking someone – anyone – to throw away digital devices for just one day and to meet her in a secret place… face to face, hand in hand, eye to eye, and heart to heart.
Directed by Lisa Iwanycki, and filmed and edited by Mathieu Dumontier, Mirror Mirror’s music video for “Imaginary Friend” is inspired by Spike Jonze’s Where the Wild Things Are and Alice in Wonderland. It takes place in an imaginary forest where Lisa plays children’s games with an invisible friend. She has a tea party, does somersaults, and waltzes alone until… someone hears her lonely wolf calls. Her imaginary friend was real all along.
Glass instruments, violins, and a midnight choir create shimmering textures, while Lisa’s soft vocals address the beauty of meeting in person. A choir of teenage girls unites with Lisa to sing about love and longing. Lisa’s singing is strikingly delicate as the pizzicato chords, and glass marimbas (played by Robbie Kuster) are plucking away right next to her. All were recorded at once in an artist’s loft space filled with bright windows and human magic. The result is a neo-classical, orchestral folk that finds strength in its shared fragility.
Lisa shares,
“Touring with Patrick Watson and the Barr Brothers had me inspired most by the moments in concert when we all left our instruments, gathered around one mic and played ever-so-delicately to the quiet room. I decided I needed to make an entire record in this fashion. Completely baroque with no headphones, no guitars, no drums… this is a chamber music ensemble.”
Watch the video for “Imaginary Friend” below and learn more about Mirror Mirror via our Five Questions With segment.
Care to introduce yourself to our readers?
My name is Lisa Iwanycki (Mirror Mirror). I am a singer-songwriter from the magical, broken city of Montreal. In 2008, I formed and founded a punk-pop group called Creature. We signed with Bonsound, then made the horrible mistake of signing with Universal Records, and the giant corporation broke us up. I then formed Blood and Glass, a moody, artsy synth pop noir outfit that signed with Simone Records in 2017. I toured the world opening for Patrick Watson, Ariane Moffatt, and The Barr Brothers. At the same time, I was touring with Little Scream as her keyboard player, and eventually, music became a stressor for me. So, one day, I canceled 14 flights and tours and took off for the country. I realized I was still in love with music, but I had to break up with the standard bass-drums-keys-guitar format and explore a new ensemble, a new way of creating. On tours with The Barr Brothers and Patrick Watson, there were always those quiet concert moments where the band would gather around one mic and play delicately to the quiet room. I decided I needed to make an entire record as delicate as those tender moments. I formed Mirror Mirror. It involves no drums, no synths, no amps… It is chamber music with lyrics about longing in a digital world.
Mirror Mirror recorded its debut mini album live in a sunny loft space with no headphones, no click-track… just five friends making baroque-like sounds together. I had to sing so quietly so I could hear the violins and glass marimbas plucking away beside me. We literally mixed ourselves on the spot by moving our instruments closer and further from the mics. The experience was magical. Mirror Mirror is like a break-up album… where I’m breaking up with music… It is music for people who don’t like music. Hahaha.
Tell us a bit about your most recent release.
My very first single under the moniker Mirror Mirror is called “Imaginary Friend.” It is about a lonely person who is misunderstood in a world of texting, social media sharing, and emailing… She wants someone to meet her in the forest in person. She wants to be together with someone, hand in hand, eye to eye, face to face, and heart to heart. She asks all her “friends” to come meet her. And the only one who does is her imaginary friend.
Glass bells, violins, contrabass, and piano form the ensemble behind my voice. The beauty of the song really comes alive when a mini choir of mothers and teenage girls sing at the end. The voices of Adele and Beatrice Ahmarani take over the song, and we feel hope in this lonely world.
I directed the video for it, capturing the secret world where the protagonist asks her friends to meet her in person. She prepares a tea party, and plays hide and seek in the forest all by herself… until, finally, her wolf calls get answered. Her imaginary friend was real all along. I was inspired by Where The Wild Things Are and really wanted to focus on the happy, hopeful spirit of the song, waltzing alone in a forest at dusk.
Where do you tend to pull inspiration from when writing?
I am often inspired by Magical Realism. I am an avid reader of books by authors such as Haruki Murakami, Heather O’Neill, and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. These storytellers make me see the world in a new way, and I feel the need to soundtrack their beautiful sentences. They help me see the magic in the mundane, it is was keeps me alive and inspired. I am also inspired by surreal narrative paintings such as the work of Frida Kahlo. This is why I approached Laurel Sprengelmeyer to use her painting as the album art for the Mirror Mirror debut. Her paintings offer a surreal world that is full of hope and wild mystery. I am honored she said yes. She is an artist I respect and adore beyond words.
When I’m working on a new song, I have many muses that spark my process. I think of the violin and the way Melanie Belair plays her instrument while singing. I think of Robbie Kuster’s collection of glass instruments, the array mbira, and his orchestral approach to percussion. I want to enchant and impress the ears of Morgan Moore by writing a bassline I know he will love and a song he will want to open up and produce. My bandmates are my biggest inspiration. My happiest place is when I am writing and thinking of them listening to the demo and figuring out how to add their magic to the music to make it come alive.
Do you have any upcoming shows you’d like to tell us about?
The mini album will be released on March 3. In the spring of 2023, I have a string of shows at secret, unconventional venues around Montreal and Quebec. These concerts will be in alternative spaces for a limited-capacity audience. I am really focusing on the delicate nature of Mirror Mirror music, so no large, noisy venues. There will be concerts in churches, gardens, chalets, and loft spaces. Stay tuned!
What’s your goal for 2023?
Directing my own music video was hugely empowering. I got to tell my story. I got to take charge and make decisions. I got to say no. That’s huge for an artist like me who has been on a major label in the past and was often told what to do. Back then, the stage was my only place of freedom, and now I am finding freedom everywhere. This is because I am surrounded by people who have so much respect for the artistic process and vision. I have a label that lets me be free and express myself how I want. I found an amazing artistic connection with Mathieu Dumontier, who brings beauty to everything he films, even when he is testing his lenses.
The musicians I work are my inspiration. I literally write songs thinking about Robbie Kuster and Melanie Belair, and Morgan Moore. My goal for 2023 is to continue in this new light and surround myself by these incredible artists who take my baby bird of a song or an idea and help make it fly. We truly found something awesome in playing quiet, orchestral folk. I am continuing in this light and following this light until everything sparkles.