DOWNLOAD ‘TRANSLATE’ [single 1]
PRESS RELEASE
TRANSLATE ft. Robert M Thomas
Official Soundtrack
CJ MIRRA
Translate is the first release and main theme from CJ Mirra’s official soundtrack to the eponymously named audio-visual freesurfing experiment and movie – the latest collaboration between the award winning partnership of musician and director Chris McClean.
“Translate the title track is orchestral, textured, cinematic with live strings and tape-manipulated samples creating an almost Nordic, ethereal feel,” explains CJ Mirra of this ode to the raging North Atlantic. “I worked with the ultra-talented Robert M Thomas who layered up so many violins and violas that it sounds like a small orchestra. Ross Sampson brought in additional classical elements that take it into a new, sublime realm.”
The video for the title track was produced and directed by multi-media artist Rebecca Smith of Urban Projections. “The video is one artist’s translation of the original film, using collaboration as protest against the current divisive political climate in Europe,” explains CJ Mirra of the piece that reinterprets original footage from the movie as the basis and inspiration for the video.
“The original film footage is incredibly powerful, but amazingly delicate and elegant. It encapsulates the beauty and interconnectedness of us with the natural world; I really wanted to reflect this in a very digital way,” explains Rebecca Smith. “Much of my work juxtaposes these values with an overtly digital aesthetic. I played with creating wave studies from particles, taking the idea that one single point has a ripple effect out to others. This interconnectedness is something that really interests me. My aim was to encapsulate the feeling of power and beauty in the natural world, and reflect on our relationship with it.”
Translate released on The State51 Conspiracy is available 27th November 2020 on digital and ltd edition vinyl with the first single released 21st August.
For more information contact:
MGMT:
Hamish Duff:
HDuff@firstartistsmgmt.com
Daniel Trachtenberg:
afoundsound@gmail.com
PRESS:
demi@approachinglines.co.uk
DOWNLOAD CJ MIRRA PRESS SHOTS HERE
CJ MIRRA BIOGRAPHY
CJ Mirra is the alias of London based recording artist, composer and sound designer John Sampson. Having previously toured and fronted several successful acts, CJ is now a sought-after composer mixing live analogue instruments with electronic and ambient textures often blurring the boundaries of composition and sound design.
In 2018 CJ received a British Independent Film Award nomination for Best Sound for his work on the feature documentary TIME TRIAL. Other film credits include Martin Radich’s critically acclaimed NORFOLK working with Chris Watson and JG Thirlwell, Ruth Paxton’s Be Still My Beating Heart (BBC Films) starring Maxine Peake and is currently in production with Akinola Davies Jr’s debut film, Lizard.
CJ has become known as ‘THE composer for cold water surf films’ after scoring over 20 films by Chris McClean, a partnership that toured an award-winning live audio/visual performances world-wide as well as releasing ‘Static (Original Surf Soundtracks Vol I)’ in 2018 via theState51conspiracy label. They are releasing their debut feature length collaboration, Translate in 2020.
Other studio work has been with Mount Kimbie, Mike Slott, Ronika and many more like-minded artists.
He has also worked extensively in spatial and binaural audio, creating the cult releae Space Trix Vol. 1.
CJ Mirra’s debut record will be out in 2021, which follows the release of the soundtrack to “Translate “ in Nov 2020.
What they’ve said about him
“CJ MIRRA TAKES SURF SOUNDTRACKS TO A DARK BUT ECSTATIC PLACE” – WHALEBONE MAGAZINE
“THE SOUND OF COLD WATER SURFING” – FINISTERRE
“DREAMY & EVOCATIVE” – HUCK MAGAZINE
“POETIC & AWE-INSPIRING” – TINY MIX TAPES
“WAVES OF AMBIENT LOVELINESS” – RECORD COLLECTOR
“I like to think of CJ as my own Angelo Badalamenti, supremely talented and able to adapt to every given situation with a new range of sounds yet with a very Johnesque sound which never fails to amaze and deliver.”
Chris McClean, Multi award winning filmmaker
“Working with CJ was one of the most special experiences I’ve had in collaborating with artists…He created a timeless soundtrack that after years still blows my mind. I don’t know what happened there between us there but I believe it is a piece of art.”
Felix Gansicke, Award winning Director, Headache
“When we were defining what cold water surfing looked like for us – surfing and seeking out some of the coldest most uncompromising waves – we turned to CJ … From the outset his haunting soundscapes exemplified the search, the elements, the camaraderie and the reward”
David Grey, Finisterre
“A highly evocative audio visual journey into the sublime that feels at once both powerful and personal and when it comes to an end, you feel awoken.”
Demi Taylor, London Surf / Film Festival Director on Chasing Zero
CJ Mirra 
