Strange Bouquets is a collaborative project that features Rory Morison (Drug Hunt) and various musicians who first came together during the social distancing era of the Covid lockdown. "The pandemic's physical disruption provided new creative opportunities because everyone was at home, hungry to play and collaborate," says Morison, who enlisted drummer Damon de La Paz (Fenix TX, Ape Machine), saxophone player Jesse Aduelo (Sure Fire Soul Ensemble), bassist Blake Dean (The Schizophonics, Mrs. Henry), and violinist Anna Zinnova (Pinkeye).
The single and music video for "Mirrors" were released in summer 2022, in advance of a self-titled album due next year featuring what Morison called "a wild cast of international collaborations." The track was recorded and mastered to half-inch tape by Jordan Andreen (Karl Denson, Earthless) at local Big Fish Studios.
"'Mirrors' is an antidote for the pandemic and what spurred from it, an existential examination," Morison explains. "For the first time, I think the world stopped long enough for us to take a good look at ourselves. All those thoughts and feelings that were pushed aside on our day-to-day grind came to the foreground, and we could no longer deny our own reflection."
(Photo: Laura Arango)