The one cool thing about my job is getting to check out music before it drops and the friendships that come of it. I’ve known Will for years through The Beast Of Nod and recently started a project in 2019 called Mimesis that is totally different than his mainstay. The band is set to release it’s second offering “Trilogy” a 3 song effort on May 13th and we have a dual review/interview feature lined up! Also in unison, they recently dropped a heavily influenced sci-fi music video for the song “The Captain” to wet your appetite.

“Trilogy” offers an even more complex offering than the debut EP in 2019. They have maintained an original sound with captive songwriting (The Traveler, The Artist, The Captain) that sets up a concept we will discuss further in the interview. Jen is the band’s vocalist, Killian Duarte recorded bass for this release and James Knoerl did drums on “Trilogy”. What this couple managed to do is create a complex, melodic landscape with a sci-fi theme and that super cool music video rolled into one wild concept that is rather catchy. If anything, they proved to me you can actually write some “outside of the box” music that isn’t too cookie cutter, while having some music and vocal catches.

Jen’s voice is even more powerful this time around and stands out, rather than vocalists who eat up a lot of the recording that want to be front and center. Her long winded, beautiful notes that carry the band’s songs really propel this offering further along. Women generally have better ranges and higher ones than of us men, and boy does she utilize it gracefully on all three songs.

What I’ve known of Will as a songwriter didn’t shock me when I first listened to the EP. “Trilogy” still has a ton of his signature tapping he has all over the place in his band “The Beast Of Nod” but in a more graceful and melodic aspect this time around. There are riffs, believe it or not and his guitar wizardry still blows me away. It feels like he has written some tough parts an average Joe like me would struggle to play. He has a different style with Mimesis compared to something heavy like TBON. I for one enjoy the grooves and technicality of this offering, while maintaining some memorable sections.

You can’t understate the importance of rhythm, putting aside the riffs for a moment. Killian’s bass work has always been spectacular best known for his time in Abiotic. Knoerl’s powerful performance on drums is quite groovy and not too over the top. He reigns in his talent when he really has to go all out and keeps it groovy and simple when he has too. The soundscape is really cool too with a heavy synth influenced background and some strings that enhance the story of the EP.

“Trilogy” is a melodic, technical musical machine that can and should appeal to many people. It’s not technical to be technical or progressive to be progressive, for “genre labeling” terms sake. It’s a rather unique release and definitely an improvement upon their first EP. It drops May 13th which is on Friday. Don’t forget about this diamond in the rough!

1. TMR: How did you go into songwriting for the follow up and not try to imitate your debut
   EP?
   Jen: Personally, I wanted to make something with a more cinematic vibe, because I wanted
   to focus more on storytelling in the lyrics. Even though both EPs are very technical, I feel
   like this one has a very different vibe due to the cinematic elements.
   Will: I wanted to include more groove and sound design this time around, with less focus on
   technicality. I think we hit a good balance!
2. TMR: Do you plan on doing any shows with Mimesis?
   Jen: In the future, yes. However, right now is not the best time for us because we’re both
   busy with other projects. Dr. Gore’s band The Beast of Nod is going on tour later this May,
   so he’s been very busy with that!
   Will: Yes definitely. We actually were planning on doing a tour in 2020, and even had some
   shows booked, but then COVID happened. We have limited bandwidth for now, but we’ll
   certainly do it at some point.
3. TMR: Were you guys listening to anything writing the EP that influenced your musical
   direction? Or anything lately that’s grabbed you.
   Jen: I listen to a lot of different genres, so I don’t actually remember if there was something
   specific that grabbed my attention during that time. I know I was listening to Hidden Citizens
   a lot – they put out a lot of very cinematic tracks and have done movie trailers and things like
   that. But overall I like progressive music, djent, metal, alternative pop, weird trip-hop stuff,
   classical music, etc.
   Will: It was around this point that I started listening to progressive house music, which is
   currently one of my favorite genres. I bet this had an influence on the writing, aside from my
   usual prog/metal influences.
4. TMR: Explain the theme of your new release and what influenced it.
   Jen: I wanted to tell a story and flesh out what “Mimesis” really is. We started writing this
   when the pandemic was happening and things were first shutting down – so a lot of
   musicians and artists were directly affected, because they could not tour. They couldn’t
   work. But this also gave some people a lot of free time to make art, myself included. I
   thought about what the world would look like, if everyone was actually able to make art,
   pretty much all the time. Would it be positive? Would people create more, and better art? Or
   since there’s so much art being made, would art become devalued? Would no one care?
   The definition of Mimesis is the attempt to imitate the real world, in art. I ended up creating a
   story – it’s smaller than a novel, but it’s longer than a typical short story. It will be released on
   our website after the EP is released, so that people can read it.
   It’s a dystopian story that takes place on a faraway planet. It’s about a traveler from a very
   oppressive city, where people do not have many choices and people don’t have a good
   quality of life. He ends up finding Mimesis, which is a seemingly utopian city where art is
   highly valued. The concept of a workaholic is not there – most people only work a few hours
   a day because processes are automated by machines. This leaves all people in the city the
   ability to have more leisure time, and make art. The story is about many other things, but
   the lyrics are also centered around oppression and authority. In future releases I’d like to
   continue the story of the city of Mimesis, and explore whether having more time to make art,
   or more free time in general, could be a positive thing for society, or what the downsides
   would be for art itself.
   For example, from the pandemic, we saw that more people made high-quality art because
   they had more time. That’s great for consumers of art. But for young artists, it made it so
   much harder to be seen and noticed. I really feel like it’s more difficult now, despite having
   so many channels to showcase your art and music.
5. TMR: the weather warming up in the northeast, I’m poised to ask what is your
   favorite summertime drink of choice?
   Jen: I like having a rum and coke but putting it in a blender with ice, creating a rum and
   coke slushie. It’s the best.
   Will: Rosé for sure. I’ve gotten super into wine since moving to CA, especially with our
   proximity to Napa.
6. TMR: You moved from Boston to California to really get your music to a larger audience.
   How has your transition from one different society/music scene/climate gone to a
   totally different one? I’m totally happy to see you get endorsements and on tours for
   TBON as well!
   Jen: I personally haven’t been very involved in the California music scene, to be honest. For
   my solo project, Jen Janet, I’ve been more active in online communities because I haven’t
   been playing live. For Mimesis it’s somewhat the same – we haven’t performed live yet, and
   for a long time California was fairly shut down due to the pandemic. You couldn’t go to
   shows for a long time. It’s great that we’re able to see live music again though.
   Will: It was a rough start with COVID keeping shows and tours to a minimum, but it’s been
   great to meet some of the bands and artists out here recently. One of the new members of
   TBON has a lot of connections and they’ve helped us get a bit more integrated into the
   community. Stoked for the future on this front for sure!
7. TMR: What are some of your favorite releases so far this year?
   Jen: I’m really digging the new Northlane album “Obsidian.” They’re doing a lot more work
   with electronic sounds and blending them with metal. I think that’s hard to do sometimes,
   but their songwriting is really strong.
   Will: The new Animals as Leaders is so sick. Definitely my favorite so far this year.
8. TMR: If music wasn’t such a large part of your life, what would you be doing instead
   realistically speaking? And what would you WANT to do if you weren’t an artist on
   the other hand?
   Jen: A lot of people don’t realize this, but most musicians (even people who tour a lot) are
   not full-time musicians and need something else to financially sustain them. That’s just the
   way it is right now, especially because most people do not buy music anymore – it is free to
   stream music.
   So currently I manage data migrations for law firms, and I’m also in an educational program
   right now for product design, which means that someday I’ll be designing software
   applications and performing user research. I’m really excited about it and I enjoy it. I’ve
   been taking some time away from music to focus on the educational program, but I’ll be
   back.
   I think if money and time was no issue, I’d want to get my PhD in psychology or
   anthropology, and teach and do research. I’m also very interested in the psychology behind
   how people interact with technology, so studying human computer interaction (HCI) would
   be very cool.
   Will: I spend the majority of my time on my career currently, but leave enough time to
   continue writing/recording/performing. I’m an atomic physicist, presently working on
   developing next-generation atomic clock technology

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