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Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka co-founds new band, MIRADOR
MIRADOR – a new band co-founded by Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka and Ida Mae’s Chris Turpin – have just launched their debut single, Feels Like Gold.
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“It’s unbridled and unhinged”: Inside Jake Kiszka’s new project, MIRADOR
Ahead of their debut self-titled album, Greta Van Fleet’s Jake Kiszka and Ida Mae’s Chris Turpin take us through the looking glass and into the “live and dangerous” world of MIRADOR.
- Words:
- Steve Beebee
- Photos:
- Paige Sara
You’d think Greta Van Fleet guitarist Jake Kiszka would have his hands full playing to packed arenas every night. Trouble is, even if you’re this successful, an itch is still an itch, and a creative itch needs scratching. For Jake that meant tapping deeper into his love of rock’n’roll lore, Delta blues and ancient, music-bound folk tales. Not to mention the opportunity to simply play loads more electrifying riffs and solos alongside a likeminded soul. That artistic connection was found in Englishman Chris Turpin, one half of alternative rock duo Ida Mae, who Jake had known since 2018. Starting the process during the free time that lockdown provided, the pair are finally ready to unveil their passion project MIRADOR's supercharged debut album.
Here, they take us through their working relationship, finding an instant fanbase, and why folk is the new punk.
Jake, what did you get from working with Chris that you couldn’t get from Greta?
Jake: “I’d always written music with my brothers so there are all sorts of particular complexities in that, but I’ve never worked like this before. And you know what? Chris can really write. He’s the full package; he sings great, is a brilliant lyricist and a genius guitar player. Locking in, one-to-one, to write and record with an individual – I’d never done that before. There are many different parameters with Greta, so to do this with Chris was an exhilarating change.”
Could any of the MIRADOR songs actually have become Greta Van Fleet songs?
Jake: “Any of these things in their infancy could have been directed one way or the other. Sure, you could have taken some guitar parts or some vocal parts and run those through the structure of either Greta or Ida Mae – but the final result would’ve been a lot different. With MIRADOR there’s more frenetic energy and excitement. It’s so fresh that it feels like divine intervention, everyone communicating musically. It’s unbridled and unhinged.”
The first two songs we got to hear were Feels Like Gold and Fortune’s Fate. How did they come about?
Chris: “Feels Like Gold was important to us, as it proved we’d cracked the code. It snowballed from there. We knew we wanted to do this thing, but you still gotta get it right. We had to think not just about the riffs but about the very language and vernacular we’d build around this band. When Feels Like Gold landed, we knew we had it.”
Jake: “We wrote the foundation of Fortune’s Fate in a Los Angeles hotel way back – it was clear that as soon as Chris and I get together, things start happening. Feels Like Gold showcased what this band is about, rock’n’roll in the purest sense, but Fortune’s Fate is much more folkloric, a storytelling song. Destiny and fate are key themes on the record, and this is a song about a character searching for their soul, for purpose.”
Before MIRADOR started playing shows, you toured as support for Greta Van Fleet, with Jake playing two sets. Is it true that fans were singing the songs back to you after only a few gigs?
Jake: “Yeah, that was amazing. We’d be on as the first band of three in an arena that might be 12,000-capacity, and we’d be truly surprised to be playing to as many as, maybe, 8,000 of them. Far more than we expected. The response was so overwhelming that by set two they seemed to be singing back 75 per cent of the songs. By our third show it was like they knew all the songs. It was unbelievable.”
Have you allowed yourselves to think about what might happen if this band really takes off? You’ll be trying to juggle projects…
Chris: “We started this with no preconceptions; we just did it for the love of doing it. MIRADOR serves a purpose in both of our creative lives, giving us something that we can’t do in other ways. Thankfully Greta Van Fleet are not a band that are out gigging 200 nights a year, so there is breathing space. All we can do is make sure everything we do is as good as it can be. We want this to stand the test of time.”
Jake: “It's something we can come back to outside of our other bands, not just because we love it but because we genuinely want to grow it. It’s quite a nice change to occasionally not be in a band with my brothers – it’s different to be in a band of people that are just friends. Some people you choose to be with; others you are just stuck with. No, I’m kidding!”
There’s some deeply felt songs on the album, some heavier than others, but most of them have a kind of darkness about them. Where has that come from?
Chris: “The lyric in Must I Go Bound is lifted from a very old ballad, of which there’s several versions. You think punk is punk? Punk is not punk compared to folk. There are rules and parameters and care and love – and you’re encouraged to revisit things; change them up. I found these lyrics and realised that if at this point in history they were still having an effect on me, I needed to direct them towards what MIRADOR is doing. Then for Raider, we needed a bruiser, and those old songs are full of the darkest stories. They don’t end well. We wanted to push that sense of destiny into a harder-edged Detroit rock’n’roll format.”
Jake: “Then there’s the likes of Blood And Custard and Heels Of The Hunt, the swashbuckling side of the record. We’d found Mikey [Sorbello, drums] and Nick [Pini, bass], and we got together as a full band at Peter Gabriel’s Real World Studios just outside Bath. MIRADOR was born in front of us. It was all so instinctive – the album is essentially live performance. We captured Blood And Custard straight away, knew we’d never be able to better it, and Heels Of The Hunt was written right at the end in about half an hour.”
How near is the album to representing your initial vision?
Chris: “Our only pre-requisite was that it should feel live and dangerous. That was my one big decision in the studio, that I should sing live. I almost wanted the band to feel scared, that we make this note happen and everyone’s gotta be in. So much today is cut to a click track. Each to their own – everyone’s gotta eat – but in recording our way we live and die by it.”
Finally, Chris, you’ve had a taste of this now – but how prepared are you for superfans?
Chris: “It’s true that I’ve lived more of an indie existence in the past, but I’ve been blessed to have played with a lot of great people, and it’s been a good trajectory. Am I prepared? What I’ll say is that I’m deeply appreciative of the community of fans around Greta. There’s a fear factor of sorts, that feeling of do or die – but people have been incredibly supportive. What particularly pleases me is that more young fans are getting to see bands like MIRADOR, Greta Van Fleet and Ida Mae.”
Jake: “I think it’s all good; it’s a positive time to be doing this. Hundreds of thousands of young fans are pouring into rock’n’roll shows now. It’s a wonderful thing for us to be a part of this great time in history.”
MIRADOR’s self-titled debut album is out September 19 via Republic Records. The band tour the UK in November.
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