You know that recurring dream you have about playing full-contact laser tag with Joy Division? It’s about to come true! Sliding out of the shadows of the recording studio and back on to the neon dance floor where they belong, Calgary-based synth lovers Melted Mirror are pleased to present a glimpse into the future with the release of their second full-length album, Past Life.

A glossy high-resolution follow-up to 2016’s Borderzone with its wandering stars and flying fortresses, Past Life crystallizes Melted Mirror’s dark charisma and cunning intellect into a collection of shimmering electro-pop tracks. Two years in the making, Past Life took Melted Mirror only two short days to record, thanks in part to the prowess of producer/engineer Nik Kozub (Shout Out Out Out Out).

“After our first album, a friend suggested we look into recording with Nik at The Audio Department up in Edmonton,” says vocalist Chris Zajko. “Between 2017 and 2018 we recorded a total of ten songs over three sessions and then narrowed it down to eight tracks for the album. The biggest challenge was simply trying to get everything done in the time that we had booked for the studio.”

Pressure makes diamonds and that’s exactly what the refractive trio, rounded out by synth player/programmer Cian Cocteau and guitarist Jeebs Nabil, has composed and delivered with the icy lustings of Past Life. One thing that technology cannot fabricate is human emotion, that essential element relies entirely on the organic beings at the center of Melted Mirror’s retrofitted motherboard. 

“It sounds silly, but when you’re recording by yourself, you may not have that many resources or fancy equipment, but you generally have the luxury of time. You have time to try things that may or may not work, or play around with parts, or leave and come back to a song the next day,” Zajko intimates. 

“Past Life refers to the idea that we are all part of a vast continuum that is largely beyond our choosing and control. Since we can’t choose where and when we are born, our world is an inheritance of history from the multitude of ‘past lives’ of the people who lived before us. We try to claim an ownership to something that is our own and permanent, but really, we’re all just passing through.”