A Dirty Dozen with TIMO BONNER from OUR MIRAGE – December 2022

According to a recent press release: “Post-hardcore outfit OUR MIRAGE have announced their third full-length album Eclipse. It is due for release on November 25 via Arising Empire. Today, the band has shared the video for “Help Me Out.” Hailing from Marl, Germany, Our Mirage hit deep and strike a nerve. The group’s music largely focuses on the problems that our youth deal with internally but it doesn’t just speak to them. It’s also very intuitive and addresses the problems and struggles that we all deal with commonly.” We get singer Timo to discuss new music, influences, and more…

1. Tell us a little about your latest release. What might a fan or listener not grab the first or second time they listen through? Are there any hidden nuggets you put in the material or that only diehard fans might find?

I think what most people won’t get is that there are more songs connected to each other than just the ones we put out as a video trilogy. For example: “Awakening” is the second part of “Through The Night” and “Vicious Cycle” the second part of “Calling You.”

2. What got you into music and can you tell us about the moment you realized you wanted to be a musician?

It always has been like this because my dad is also a musician and I had instruments all around me for my whole childhood. There never was a moment that changed something for me. It just has always been my dream, there was no other choice.

3. Building on that, is there a specific song, album, performer, or live show that guided your musical taste?

Definitely Sum 41 with their album All Killer No Filler. I stole this CD from my dad when I was six and was addicted to distorted guitars ever since. This was followed by Linkin Park’s Meteora Album when I turned 8.

4. If you could call in any one collaborator to do a song with, who would it be, and why?

I guess Cody Quistad of Wage War because he is just a genius songwriter and I would love to learn things from him. I look up to this dude’s ability to write music.

5. What is your favorite activity when out of the studio and/or not on tour? What do you like to do to unwind?

Hiking! Going out into nature helps a lot to get creative again. Nature has everything for you to feel better.

6. How would you describe your music to someone who’d never listened to you before? What is the one comparison a reviewer or fan has made that made you cringe or you disagreed with?

Our music is a mixture of post hardcore and metalcore paired with a lot of emotions. But there was never a comparison that made me cringe.

7. When your band is hanging out together, who cooks, who gets the drinks in, and who is first to crack out the acoustic guitars for a singalong?

I think Maus would be the one who will make us Pizza and get the drinks… Manuel will just sing to everything but not with a guitar.

8. When was the last time you were starstruck and who was it?

Hmm, hard question because I don’t really look up to people but rather the things they are doing and achieving.

9. What is the best part of being a musician? If you could no longer be a musician for whatever reason, what would be your dream job?

The best part of being a musician is to play shows and get close to the fans. Helping them through tough times is all we want. If I wasn’t a musician I think I would have become a kindergarten teacher.

10. What is one question you have always wanted an interviewer to ask – and what is the answer? Conversely, what question are you tired of answering?

I have never thought about a specific question that never got asked. But the question I am tired of answering is: What is the story behind the band name?

11. Looking back over your career, is there a single moment or situation you feel was a misstep or you would like to have a “do over,” even if it didn’t change your current situation?

Actually no because all of those little mistakes made me learn a certain lesson. Mistakes make you stronger and I would never change a single one of my mistakes.

12. If you could magically go back in time and be a part of the recording sessions for any one record in history, which would you choose – and what does that record mean to you?

Wage War – Blueprints! This is one of my all time favorite albums and witnessing this album to come to live would definitely be a dream. It has everything that I love about music and it inspired me a lot in terms of sound and production to become the musician/music producer I am today.

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Category: Interviews