They say:
The so called super-group MIEN released their debut self-titled LP on Rocket Recordings last week too much hype and anticipation.
The seeds for this collaboration were sown as long ago as 2004, when Rishi Dhir found himself in a chance encounter with Alex Maas whilst performing sitar with his former band on a bill at SXSW in Austin. Not long afterwards, he would also stumble across the Anglo-American band The Earlies, who he would similarly collaborate and share a stage with. This led to essentially the genesis of MIEN, via a shared love for one song – the classic sitar anthem by The Association, ‘Wantin’ Ain’t Gettin’. Upon finding that both he and The Earlies’ electronics guru and producer John Mark Lapham had a particular desire to cover this ditty, they began a slow process of putting together the version they’d always dreamt of. Whilst this would never come to fruition – the sparks that flew between them lit up a collaborative path clearly worth following.
Some years later, another piece of the puzzle came into place, when Dhir played bass with The Black Angels in 2012, and found the band sharing several bills with The Horrors, whose Skying album had been on heavy rotation for him. Thus he made the acquaintance of Tom Furse, and yet another pact was made to work together in the future. Soon, via yet another pass at the ill-starred Association cover, the four planets of the MIEN universe were to align...
Read the full piece here: Backseat Mafia
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