• Horror

Mirror - Hilgrove Kenrick and Sam Watts

If there was a tune to leaves falling and flowers blooming, it would be Mirror by Hilgrove Kenrick and Sam Watts. The instrumental track ebbs and flows with the precision and grace of water that embraces both the flower and the stone that falls into it with a unique acceptance. The two composers and songwriters have compressed their world into just under four minutes for us. The track is only a glimpse into the vast world these sonic weavers bring us. The instrumental is a world apart. A reflection on Mirror with Hilgrove Kenrick Congratulations on the release! Could you tell us about your writing process in general and where you take your inspiration from? Sam and I have been wanting to work together for a long time but haven't had a gap in our respective schedules. As established TV and film composers, free time is rare, so it was a challenge to find a moment that suited us both. That happened this year, and we realised we had one day in which we could put something together for ourselves, not just for a client's project. The Threads of the Sonic Tapestry and the weaving process There is a distinct style to the song as if you have captured an image of a musical note in graceful movement, an unmatched theatre of sound. How does Mirror - Hilgrove Kenrick and Sam Watts bring images to sound? Your track has a unique style of expression. Can you tell us a bit about how it was to build and stitch this song together? We wanted a theme and came up with Mirror – the idea of a single image reflecting itself, with two pianists taking the same theme and playing each half in turn for each other. We knew we would be working on different continents – I in England and Sam in Canada – so we would each have to perform and record in our own spaces, both using Steinberg's Cubase/Nuendo, so we could collaborate on the same project directly. It was a joy to write the first notes and then hear Sam's interpretation come back with the melody at the beginning and then the reinterpretation of my harmony in the second half for me to add my own melody to. From there, it was just a case of adding my vocals, and we had all the recordings we needed. Then I spent some time editing and mixing here in my Dolby Atmos studio so we could do a full spatial audio release for Apple, Amazon, Tidal and Deezer, which was important to us – to use the latest audio capabilities and deliver something a bit extra special for those who can listen to it. Mirror Mirror on the wall, what's in store for us all? The track has only set expectations high for us all. The cinematic sounds transport us to scenic scapes that are found only in our imagination. How has the reaction from your listeners been so far? What’s in the future for the two of you, a performance, another song perhaps?  With 10,000 streams in the first few days and a lot of very positive coverage, we've been really excited by how well it's gone down with our audience. It's just as well, as we're already in the early stages of writing an EP together along the same lines, once again co-writing, which will be out in the late summer. The song and its voice by Hilgrove Kenrick and Sam Watts The way these composers weave their songs with so much grace and honesty is baffling. Mirrors has achieved with no words what so few songs can; it moves its listeners deeply. To think that the artists never physically met to create this number is wild! To be able to create intensity that emits so much imagery requires a great amount of listening and patience. The song reflects this as well; it takes its time to build, it is in no hurry, and it meanders and slinks away before you know it. The track, in a way, embodies time; it encapsulates so much, as if it is a reflection of how time falls around like confetti, making it the perfect song to be added into something like Haunting of the Hill House. A series that is a masterclass of horror and suspense writing, each frame tells its own story, not to mention the precision of cinematography and post-production. Hollgrove Kenrick and Sam Watts bring in the same amount of precision into their mirror. It is a reflection of time itself and more. Click on the link attached above and immerse yourself in music that is eager to embrace you! Read More

• 2025
• 3 h : 4 min